opera
1 Americannoun
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an extended dramatic composition, in which all parts are sung to instrumental accompaniment, that usually includes arias, choruses, and recitatives, and that sometimes includes ballet.
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the form or branch of musical and dramatic art represented by such compositions.
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the score or the words of such a composition.
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a performance of one.
to go to the opera.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) an opera house or resident company.
the Paris Opera.
noun
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012noun
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an extended dramatic work in which music constitutes a dominating feature, either consisting of separate recitatives, arias, and choruses, or having a continuous musical structure
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the branch of music or drama represented by such works
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the score, libretto, etc, of an opera
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a theatre where opera is performed
Etymology
Origin of opera
1635–45; < Italian: work, opera < Latin, plural of opus service, work, a work, opus
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was the talk of the town, an opera with a little something for everyone, an opera that that stands for something culturally, spiritually and ethically.
From Los Angeles Times
A neat bookend to another traumatic 12 months in Welsh rugby's soap opera.
From BBC
For the 30th anniversary, the band is collaborating with their hometown orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, to bring “Mellon Collie” to life in an opera form.
From Los Angeles Times
"One further example is Richard Wagner's opera 'The Ring of the Nibelung'," explains Simon Hauke.
From Science Daily
Mr. Ozawa’s direction tells the opera’s story clearly without anchoring it in any specific time, place, or religious tradition.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
