opera seria

American  

[op-er-uh seer-ee-uh, op-ruh, aw-pe-rah se-ryah] / ˈɒp ər ə ˈsɪər i ə, ˈɒp rə, ˈɔ pɛ rɑ ˈsɛ ryɑ /

noun

opera serias, plural operas seria, plural opere serie plural

1. Italian dramatic opera of the 18th century based typically on a classical subject and characterized by extensive use of the aria da capo and recitative.

---

opera seria British  

/ ˈopera ˈsɛːrja, ˈsɪərɪə /

noun

1. a type of opera current in 18th-century Italy based on a serious plot, esp a mythological tale

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• operas seria
  plural
• opera serias
  plural
• opere serie
  plural

Etymology

Origin of opera seria

1875–80; < Italian: literally, serious opera

Example Sentences

Night two for me was Mozart’s 1781 opera seria “Idomeneo,” set on the island of Crete in the aftermath of the Trojan War.

From Washington Post • Oct. 13, 2022

Mozart had long since tossed out the archaic opera seria format.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2017

Mozart's opera may be ignored because it was an opera seria, the already archaic formal style of tragic opera.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2015

Radamisto: That sounds a bit extreme, / But as this is opera seria / I suppose / I have no real alternative.

From The Guardian • Oct. 8, 2010

Salzburg imitated Vienna, and Vienna, in spite of Gluck, was still Italian in its sympathies, so far at any rate as opera seria was concerned.

From The Opera A Sketch of the Development of Opera. With full Descriptions of all Works in the Modern Repertory. by Fuller-Maitland, J. A.