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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

Written at the end of Mozart’s life as a popular entertainment, its a singspiel, or sung play.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

In Mozart and Schikaneder’s singspiel, women lurk in the dark, wild outskirts beyond the gates of Sarastro’s shining, orderly sanctum.

From New York Times • May 21, 2023

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

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2022

“Die Zauberflöte,” with its use of the German language and spoken dialogue, is a singspiel from Mozart’s last year, 1791.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2012

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