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• singspiel
  singspiel

  noun

  a German opera, especially of the 18th century, using spoken dialogue and resembling ballad opera.
• Singspiel
  Singspiel

  noun

  a type of comic opera in German with spoken dialogue, popular during the late 18th and early 19th centuries

singspiel

American  

[sing-speel, zing-shpeel] / ˈsɪŋˌspil, ˈzɪŋˌʃpil /

noun

1. a German opera, especially of the 18th century, using spoken dialogue and resembling ballad opera.

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Singspiel British  

/ ˈzɪŋʃpiːl /

noun

1. a type of comic opera in German with spoken dialogue, popular during the late 18th and early 19th centuries

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Etymology

Origin of singspiel

1880–85; < German, equivalent to sing ( en ) to sing + Spiel play

Example Sentences

“Fidelio” being a singspiel, the dialogue is spoken rather than sung recitative.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2022

Encores! discovers this early Jason Robert Brown singspiel.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2018

This was especially true in a seminal 2010 recording of “Die Zauberflöte” and a recent one of “Die Entführung aus dem Serail,” which are both in the German singspiel genre, full of vivacious dialogue.

From New York Times • Aug. 12, 2016

With “The Magic Flute,” Mozart elevated the singspiel — a German-language form blending spoken dialogue, music and comic elements — to extraordinary heights.

From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2016

Native dramatic tastes, once fostered by minnesingers and strolling players, were kept alive by the "singspiel," or song-play, composed of spoken dialogue and popular song, which furnished the actual beginnings of German national music drama.

From For Every Music Lover A Series of Practical Essays on Music by Moore, Aubertine Woodward