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

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

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

He had just undertaken the uncongenial and now hateful task of composing an opera buffa entitled, Un Giorno di Regno; and, as might have been expected, this work was somewhat deficient in comedy.

From The Great Musicians: Rossini and His School by Edwards, Henry Sutherland