grand opera
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: - A type of opera in which the entire text, including all dialogue and narrative, is sung, typically characterized by large-scale productions, serious or tragic plots, and a full orchestra without spoken dialogue.
Usage
- As a subject: demands singers with powerful voices.
- As an object: The composer dedicated his life to writing .
- With modifiers: Nineteenth-century French often featured elaborate ballets.
Examples
- The company's production of is a classic example of .
- She prefers the dramatic intensity of to lighter operatic forms.
- Funding a new is a significant financial undertaking for any theater.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used to distinguish works like Verdi's or Meyerbeer's from comic opera () or operetta, which include spoken dialogue.
- In a broader, sometimes metaphorical sense, "grand opera" can describe any situation perceived as excessively dramatic or emotionally overwrought.
- Their public argument was pure grand opera.
Variants and Related Words
- Opera (n): A dramatic work set to music for singers and orchestra.
- Operatic (adj): Relating to or characteristic of opera.
Synonyms
- Serious opera
- Opera seria (in the Italian tradition, though technically distinct)
Antonyms
- Comic opera
- Operetta
- Singspiel (a form with spoken dialogue)
Related Phrases/Idioms
- To be grand opera: Used to describe something as being as elaborate, dramatic, or tragic as a grand opera.
- The political scandal unfolded like a piece of grand opera.
Noun
- opera in which all the text is sung