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  

/ ˈbuːfə, ˈopera ˈbuffa /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

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

Etymology

Origin of opera buffa

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1795–1805

Example Sentences

A comic opera ends with a wedding, and our opera buffa is no exception.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2023

And the fierce attachment to the female point of view has the effect of turning the male characters’ rage and violence into a tragicomic opera buffa, a stylized performance of endangered pride.

From New York Times • Mar. 26, 2020

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

From Washington Post • Jul. 16, 2015

Berlusconi turned it into opera buffa, was in office longer than any other Italian Prime Minister, and ended up in court.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 22, 2015

At length he received a commission from the Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian III., to write an opera buffa for the Carnival of 1775,—"La finta Giardiniera."

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