opera buffa

American  

[op-er-uh boo-fuh, op-ruh, aw-pe-rah boof-fah] / ˈɒp ər ə ˈbu fə, ˈɒp rə, ˈɔ pɛ rɑ ˈbuf fɑ /

noun

plural

opera buffas, operas buffa,

plural

opere buffe

1. an Italian farcical comic opera originating in the 18th century and containing recitativo secco, patter songs, and ensemble finales.

2. the operatic genre comprising such works.

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opera buffa British  

/ ˈbuːfə, ˈopera ˈbuffa /

noun

1. comic opera, esp that originating in Italy during the 18th century

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Etymology

Origin of opera buffa

Borrowed into English from Italian around 1795–1805

Example Sentences

A comic opera ends with a wedding, and our opera buffa is no exception.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2023

For Currentzis, the work’s female characters reflect different styles of female singer: Donna Anna, for example, seems to have arrived from an opera seria and Zerlina, a peasant girl, from an opera buffa.

From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2021

It has more in common with Mozart’s opera buffa than with “Days of Our Lives.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 16, 2015

Berlusconi turned it into opera buffa, was in office longer than any other Italian Prime Minister, and ended up in court.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 22, 2015

"Don Pasquale," an opera buffa in three acts, was first produced at the Théâtre des Italiens in Paris, Jan.

From The Standard Operas (12th edition) Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers by Upton, George P. (George Putnam)