command performance

See synonyms for command performance on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a performance of a play, opera, ballet, or the like, given at the request of a sovereign or head of state.

Origin of command performance

1
First recorded in 1895–1900

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use command performance in a sentence

  • Not long ago, it will be remembered, she played Lady Teazle at a command performance of Sheridan's masterpiece.

    Christopher Quarles | Percy James Brebner
  • Whatever might be said about Arnold's political ethics, few have criticized his command performance with small forces.

    The Road to Independence: Virginia 1763-1783 | Virginia State Dept. of Education

British Dictionary definitions for command performance

command performance

noun
  1. a performance of a play, opera, etc, at the request of a ruler or of royalty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with command performance

command performance

An occasion that one is obliged to attend, as in My boss's invitations to dinner are always a command performance. This term originally (late 1800s) denoted a theatrical or musical performance presented at the behest of a sovereign or head of state. By the 1930s it was also used figuratively for any more or less obligatory occasion or performance.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.