opera seria

American  

[op-er-uh seer-ee-uh, op-ruh, aw-pe-rah se-ryah] / ˈɒp ər ə ˈsɪər i ə, ˈɒp rə, ˈɔ pɛ rɑ ˈsɛ rjɑ /

noun

opera serias, plural operas seria, plural opere serie plural

1. Italian dramatic opera of the 18th century based typically on a classical subject and characterized by extensive use of the aria da capo and recitative.

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opera seria British  

/ ˈopera ˈsɛːrja, ˈsɪərɪə /

noun

1. a type of opera current in 18th-century Italy based on a serious plot, esp a mythological tale

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• opera serias
  plural
• operas seria
  plural
• opere serie
  plural

Etymology

Origin of opera seria

1875–80; < Italian: literally, serious opera

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

opera seria

My dating history featured a catalog of opera seria, each ending more tragic than the last.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2023

Night two for me was Mozart’s 1781 opera seria “Idomeneo,” set on the island of Crete in the aftermath of the Trojan War.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 13, 2022

Mozart had long since tossed out the archaic opera seria format.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2017

‘IDOMENEO’ Mozart’s great opera seria, which James Levine brought to the Met for the first time in 1982, returns under his baton in the same Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production.

From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2016

As yet they have no original pieces, but are now anxious soon to give a German opera seria, and a strong wish prevails that I should compose it.

From The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Nohl, Ludwig