music drama

noun

1. an opera having more or less continuous musical and dramatic activity without arias, recitatives, or ensembles.

music drama

noun

1. an opera in which the musical and dramatic elements are of equal importance and strongly interfused
2. the genre of such operas

Word History and Origins

Origin of music drama¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Word History and Origins

Origin of music drama¹

C19: translation of German Musikdrama, coined by Wagner to describe his later operas

Example Sentences

She said after realising “I can't have the dress, I'm not having the car”, the main thing for her was the venue, which she secured in Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

From BBC

“The Reef,” Davis’s latest music drama to arrive onstage and his follow-up to “The Central Park Five,” seems more fitting in that literary cohort.

From New York Times

As a teenager, Felix studied at Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and won a prestigious prize.

From BBC

Nicôle Lecky, who took home the Best Miniseries award for her music drama Mood, which she wrote and starred in, agrees that writing goes way beyond the script.

From BBC

Philadelphia’s 21 special admissions high schools have various specialties — music, drama, science, liberal arts, etc.

From Washington Post