This is an inclusive
glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
'Opera' is an Italian word (short for 'opera in musica'), however it was not commonly used in Italy (or indeed in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most composers used more precise designations to present their work to the public. Often specific genres of opera were commissioned by theatres or patrons (in which case the form of the work might deviate more or less from the genre norm, depending on the inclination of the composer). Opera genres are not exclusive. Some operas are regarded as belonging to several. In the case of doubt the only authority is, ultimately, the composer himself.
Definitions
Opera genres have been defined in different ways, not always in terms of stylistic rules. Some, like
opera seria, refer to traditions identified by later historians , while others, like
Zeitoper, have been defined by their own inventors. Other forms have been associated with a particular theatre, for example
opéra comique at the
theatre of the same name, or
opéra bouffe at the
Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens.
This list does not include terms that are unhistorical, or vague and merely descriptive, such as 'rescue opera' , 'comic opera' , 'sacred opera', 'tragic opera' or 'one-act opera' etc. Original language terms are given to avoid the ambiguities that would be caused by English translations.
List
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!|Genre!!Language!!class="unsortable" width="36%"|Description!!|First known example!!class="unsortable"|Major works!!|Last known example!!class="unsortable"|Notable composers!!class="unsortable"|Refs.
|-
| Acte de ballet ||
French || An
opéra ballet consisting of a single entrée. 18th century. || ||
Les fêtes de Ramire (1745),
Anacréon (1754), || ||
Rameau ||
|-
|
Afterpiece ||
English || 18th/early 19th century short opera or pantomime performed after a full-length play. || ||
The Padlock (1768)|| ||
Dibdin ||
|-
|
Comédie mêlée d'ariettes ||French ||
Literally, 'comedy mixed with brief arias'. An early form of
French opéra comique dating to the mid 18th century.|| ||
La rencontre imprévue (1764),
Tom Jones (1765),
Le déserteur (1769),
Zémire et Azor (1771),
Le congrès des rois (
Cherubini et al, 1794) || ||
Gluck,
Grétry ||
|-
| Commedia || Italian ||
abbreviation of commedia in musica || ||
Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816) || || ||
|-
| Commedia in musica || Italian ||
alternative name for opera buffa || || || || ||
|-
| Commedia per musica || Italian ||
alternative name for opera buffa || ||
La pastorella nobile (1788)|| || || || ||
La scuola de' gelosi (1778),
La vera costanza (1779),
Il viaggio a Reims (1825), || ||
Haydn,
Mozart,
Salieri,
Sarti,
Rossini,
Donizetti ||
|-
|
Farsa (plural
farse)|| Italian ||
Literally, 'farce'. A form of one-act opera, sometimes with dancing, associated with
Venice, especially the
Teatro San Moisè, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. || ||
La cambiale di matrimonio (1810),
L'inganno felice (1812),
La scala di seta (1812),
Il signor Bruschino (1813),
Adina (1818) || ||
Rossini||
|-
| Farsetta || Italian ||
alternative name for farsa || || || || ||
|-
|
Festa teatrale || Italian ||A grander version of the
azione teatrale. An opera given as part of a court celebration (of a marriage etc.) Typically associated with Vienna.||
Il pomo d'oro (
Cesti, 1668) || || ||
Draghi,
Fux,
Caldara||
|-
|
Género chico ||
Spanish ||
Literally, 'little genre'. A type of
zarzuela, differing from zarzuela grande by its brevity and popular appeal. || || || ||
Ruperto Chapí ||
|-
| Género grande || Spanish ||
alternative name for zarzuela grande || || || || ||
|-
|
Grand opéra || French ||19th-century genre, usually with 4 or 5 acts, large-scale casts and orchestras, and spectacular staging, often based on historical themes. Particularly associated with the
Paris Opéra (1820s to c. 1850), but similar works were created in other countries.||
La muette de Portici (1828) ||
Robert le diable (1831),
La Juive (1835),
Les Huguenots (1836) ||
Patrie! (
Paladilhe, 1886)||
Meyerbeer,
Halévy,
Verdi ||
|-
| Handlung || German ||
Literally 'action' or 'drama'. Wagner's description for ''
Tristan und Isolde. || || || ||
Wagner ||
|-
|
Intermezzo || Italian || Comic relief inserted between acts of
opere serie in the early 18th century, typically involving
slapstick, disguises etc. Spread throughout Europe In the 1730s. Predated
Opera buffa. ||
Frappolone e Florinetta (
Gasparini?, 1706)||
La serva padrona (1733)|| ||
Pergolesi,
Hasse ||
|-
| Liederspiel || German ||
Literally 'song-play'. Early 19th century genre in which existing lyrics, often well-known, were set to new music and inserted into a spoken play. ||
Lieb' und Treue (
Reichardt, 1800)||
Kunst und Liebe (
Reichardt, 1807)|| ||
Reichardt Lindpaintner ||
|-
| Lokalposse || German || Specialized form of
Posse mit Gesang concentrating on daily life themes, associated with the playwright
Karl von Marinelli. || || || || ||
|-
| Melodramma serio || Italian ||
alternative name for opera seria|| || || || ||
|-
| Musikdrama || German || Term associated with the later operas of
Wagner but repudiated by him. Nevertheless widely used by post-Wagnerian composers. || ||
Tiefland (1903),
Salome (1905),
Der Golem (
d'Albert 1926)|| ||
d'Albert,
Richard Strauss || in contrast to an
opéra comique that mixed singing with spoken dialogue. Opéra (which included
grand opéra), was associated with the
Paris Opéra (
the Opéra). Also used for some works with a serious tone at the
Opéra-Comique. || ||
Naïs (1749),
Fernand Cortez (1809),
Moïse et Pharaon (1827),
Les vêpres siciliennes (1855),
Roméo et Juliette (1867) || ||
Grétry,
Spontini,
Rossini,
Verdi,
Gounod ||
|-
|
Opera buffa (plural,
opere buffe) || Italian || Major genre of comic opera in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Originating in
Naples (especially the
Teatro dei Fiorentini), its popularity spread during the 1730s, notably to
Venice where development was influenced by the playwright/librettist
Goldoni. Typically in three acts, unlike the
intermezzo. Contrasting in style, subject matter, and the use of dialect with the formal, aristocratic
opera seria. ||
La Cilla (Michelangelo Faggioli, 1706) ||
Li zite 'ngalera (1722),
Il filosofo di campagna (
Galuppi, 1754),
La buona figliuola (1760),
Le nozze di Figaro (1786),
Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816),
Don Pasquale (1843) ||
Crispino e la comare (1850)||
Vinci,
Galuppi,
Duni,
Piccinni,
Sacchini,
Salieri,
Mozart,
Rossini ||
|-
|
Opéra bouffon ||French ||
Opera buffa as performed in 18th-century France, either in the original language or in translation. (Sometimes confused with
opéra comique.) || ||
Le roi Théodore à Venise (Paisiello, 1786)|| || ||
|-
|
Opéra comique (plural,
opéras comiques) ||French ||
Literally, 'comic opera'. Genre including
arias, a certain amount of spoken dialogue (and sometimes recitatives). Closely associated with works written for the
Paris Opéra-Comique. Themes included were serious and tragic, as well as light. Tradition developed from popular early 18th century
comédies en vaudevilles and lasted into 20th century with many changes in style. ||
Télémaque (Jean-Claude Gillier, 1715) ||
La dame blanche (1825),
Carmen (1875),
Lakmé (1883)|| ||
Grétry,
Boieldieu,
Auber, ||
|-
| Opéra lyrique || French ||
Literally, 'lyric opera'. Late 18th/19th century, less grandiose than grand opéra, but without the spoken dialogue of
opéra comique. (Term applied more to the genre as a whole than individual operas.)|| || || ||
Gounod,
Ambroise Thomas,
Massenet ||
|-
|
Opera seria (plural,
opere serie)|| Italian ||
Literally, 'serious opera'. Dominant style of opera in the 18th century, not only in Italy but throughout Europe (except
France). Rigorously formal works using texts, mainly based on ancient history, by poet-librettists led by
Metastasio. Patronized by the court and the nobility. Star singers were often
castrati. || ||
Griselda (1721),
Cleofide (Hasse, 1731),
Ariodante (1735),
Alceste (1767),
La clemenza di Tito (1791) || ||
Alessandro Scarlatti,
Vivaldi,
Hasse,
Handel,
Gluck,
Mozart||
|-
| Opéra-tragédie || French ||
alternative name for tragédie en musique|| || || || ||
|-
|
Operetta || English (from Italian) ||
Literally, 'little opera'. Derived from English versions of
Offenbach's
opéras bouffes performed in London in the 1860s. Some of the earliest native operettas in English were written by
Frederic Clay and
Sullivan. (
W. S. Gilbert and Sullivan wished to distinguish their
joint works from continental operetta and later called them 'comic operas' or
Savoy operas).||
Cox and Box (1866) ||
Princess Toto (1876),
Rip Van Winkle (1882),
Naughty Marietta (1910),
Monsieur Beaucaire (1919),
The Student Prince (1924),
The Vagabond King (1925)||
Candide (1956) ||
Sullivan,
Herbert,
Romberg,
Friml,
Leonard Bernstein ||
|-
| Opérette (plural,
opérettes) || French ||
French operetta. Original genre of light (both of music and subject matter) opera that grew out of the French
opéra comique in the mid 19th century. Associated with the style of the
Second Empire by the works of
Offenbach, though his best known examples are designated subgenerically as
opéras bouffes. ||
L'ours et le pacha (
Hervé, 1842)||
Madame Papillon (Offenbach, 1855),
Les mousquetaires au couvent (1880),
Les p'tites Michu (1897),
Ciboulette (1923)|| ||
Hervé,
Offenbach,
Varney,
Messager,
Hahn ||
|-
| Posse ||German ||
alternative name for Posse mit Gesang || || || || ||
|-
|
Romantische Oper ||German || Early 19th-century German genre derived from earlier French
opéras comiques, dealing with 'German' themes of nature, the supernatural, folklore etc. Spoken dialogue, originally included with musical numbers, was eventually eliminated in works by Richard Wagner. ||
Der Freischütz (1821) ||
Hans Heiling (1833),
Undine (1845),
Tannhäuser (1845) ||
Lohengrin (1850) ||
Weber,
Marschner,
Lortzing,
Wagner||
|-
| Sainetillo || Spanish ||
Diminutive of sainete|| || || || || (sometiimes referred to as a form of '
comic opera' to distance the English genre from the continental) comprising the works of
Gilbert and Sullivan and other works from 1881 to 1903 that played at the
Savoy Theatre in
London. These influenced the rise of
musical theatre. ||
Trial by Jury (1875)||
H.M.S. Pinafore (1878),
The Pirates of Penzance (1880),
The Mikado (1885),
The Gondoliers (1889),
Merrie England (1902)||
A Princess of Kensington (1903)||
Sullivan,
Solomon,
German||
|-
| Saynète ||French ||
French for sainete. Description used for a particular style of
opérette in the 19th century.|| ||
La caravane de l'amour (
Hervé, 1854),
Le rêve d'une nuit d'été (
Offenbach, 1855),
Le valet de coeur (
Planquette, 1875) || ||
Hervé,
Offenbach,
Planquette ||
|-
| Schuloper || German ||
Literally, 'school opera'. Early 20th century, opera created for performance by school children. || ||
Der Jasager (1930),
Wir bauen eine Stadt (
Hindemith, 1930) || ||
Weill,
Hindemith ||
|-
|
Semi-opera || English ||Early form of
opera with singing, speaking and dancing roles. Popular between 1673 and 1710.||
The Tempest (
Betterton, 1674) ||
Psyche (1675),
King Arthur (1691),
The Fairy-Queen (1692) || ||
Purcell||
|-
| Zwischenspiel || German || German name for
intermezzo || ||
Pimpinone (1725) || || ||
|}
See also
The following cover other forms of entertainment that existed around the time of the appearance of the first operas in Italy at the end of the 16th century, which were influential in the development of the art form:
*Intermedio
Masque
Madrigale concertato
Madrigal comedy
References
Genres
