opera buffa

American  

[op-er-uh boo-fuh, op-ruh, aw-pe-rah boof-fah] / ˈɒp ər ə ˈbu fə, ˈɒp rə, ˈɔ pɛ rɑ ˈbuf fɑ /

noun

• opera buffas,
  plural
• operas buffa,
  plural
• opere buffe
  plural

1. an Italian farcical comic opera originating in the 18th century and containing recitativo secco, patter songs, and ensemble finales.

2. the operatic genre comprising such works.

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opera buffa British  

/ ˈopera ˈbuffa, -ˈbuːfə /

noun

1. comic opera, esp that originating in Italy during the 18th century

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• opera buffas
  plural
• operas buffa
  plural
• opere buffe
  plural

Etymology

Origin of opera buffa

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1795–1805

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

opera buffa

Felice Romani’s libretto also has an unusual—rather meta—construction: It includes a poet who is trying to write an opera buffa and narrates the events, a nod to Mozart’s “Così fan tutte.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

This obscure and hilariously outrageous takeoff on the genre of Italian opera buffa, written in 1846, turned out to be the hit of the weekend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024

For Currentzis, the work’s female characters reflect different styles of female singer: Donna Anna, for example, seems to have arrived from an opera seria and Zerlina, a peasant girl, from an opera buffa.

From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2021

It has more in common with Mozart’s opera buffa than with “Days of Our Lives.”

From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2015

So he gave him a contract to write three operas, one of which was to be an opera buffa, and to be ready in the following autumn.

From Great Italian and French Composers by George T. (George Titus) Ferris