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

plural

opera buffas, operas buffa,

plural

opere buffe

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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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

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

Salieri’s opera buffa also lacks the character depth of Verdi’s “Falstaff” and the dark-hued undertones of Mozart’s comedies.

From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2014

I consider that the very essence of opera buffa lies in this incursion of the Fanciful-Fantastic, the preposterous and absurd, into actual, everyday life, and the incongruities that result.

From The Serapion Brethren, Vol. I. by Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Wilhelm