File:L'elisir_d'amore_10_2013.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
opera buffa
Sign in to saveAlso known as commedia per musica, dramma giocoso per musica, Italian comic opera, Italian light opera
Italian opera genre
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
L'elisir d'amore, 1832 opera buffa Opera buffa ( Italian: [ˈɔːpera ˈbuffa], "comic opera"; pl.: opere buffe) is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as commedia in musica, commedia per musica, dramma bernesco, dramma comico, divertimento giocoso.
Especially associated with developments in Naples in the first half of the 18th century, whence its popularity spread to Rome and northern Italy, buffa was at first characterized by everyday settings, local dialects, and simple vocal writing (the basso buffo is the associated voice type), the main requirement being clear diction and facility with patter.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “opera buffa” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.