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

1. opera in which all the text is sung