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

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Etymology

Origin of opera buffa

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1795–1805

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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

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

Nor can the reader fail to discern in this story some of the germs of the opera buffa.

From Some Forerunners of Italian Opera by W. J. (William James) Henderson

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