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opera

 - 9 dictionary results
We're Ahmanson Theatre LA
Official tickets to only our shows. Tickets make perfect holiday gifts.
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org
The Redeemer Reborn Book
Buy the book explaining Parsifal as the Fifth Opera of Wagner's Ring.
www.musicdispatch.com

op⋅er⋅a

1  [op-er-uh, op-ruh]
Use opera in a Sentence
–noun
1. an extended dramatic composition, in which all parts are sung to instrumental accompaniment, that usually includes arias, choruses, and recitatives, and that sometimes includes ballet. Compare comic opera, grand opera.
2. the form or branch of musical and dramatic art represented by such compositions.
3. the score or the words of such a composition.
4. a performance of one: to go to the opera.
5. (sometimes initial capital letter) an opera house or resident company: the Paris Opera.
Origin:
1635–45; < It: work, opera < L, pl. of opus service, work, a work, opus
We're Ahmanson Theatre LA
Official tickets to only our shows. Tickets make perfect holiday gifts.
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org
The Redeemer Reborn Book
Buy the book explaining Parsifal as the Fifth Opera of Wagner's Ring.
www.musicdispatch.com

o⋅pe⋅ra

2  [oh-per-uh, op-er-uh]
–noun Chiefly Music.
a pl. of opus.

o⋅pus

  [oh-puhs]
–noun, plural o⋅pus⋅es or, especially for 1, 2, o⋅pe⋅ra  [oh-per-uh, op-er-uh] .
1. a musical composition.
2. one of the compositions of a composer, usually numbered according to the order of publication.
3. a literary work or composition, as a book: Have you read her latest opus? Abbreviation: op.
Origin:
1695–1705; < L: work, labor, a work
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To opera
op·er·a 1   (ŏp'ər-ə, ŏp'rə)   
n.  

  1. A theatrical presentation in which a dramatic performance is set to music.

  2. The score of such a work.

  3. A theater designed primarily for operas.


[Italian, work, opera, from Latin, work, service; see op- in Indo-European roots.]
o·pe·ra 2   (ō'pər-ə, ŏp'ər-ə)   
n.  A plural of opus.
o·pus   (ō'pəs)   
n.   pl. o·pe·ra (ō'pər-ə, ŏp'ər-ə) or o·pus·es
A creative work, especially a musical composition numbered to designate the order of a composer's works.

[Latin; see op- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

opera

A musical drama that is totally or mostly sung. A&idie;da, Carmen, and Don Giovanni are some celebrated operas. A light, comic opera is often called an operetta.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

opera 
"a drama sung," 1644, from It. opera, lit. "a work," from L. opera "work, effort" (L. plural regarded as fem. sing.), secondary (abstract) noun from operari "to work," from opus (gen. operis) "a work" (see opus). Defined in "Elson's Music Dictionary" as, "a form of musical composition evolved shortly before 1600, by some enthusiastic Florentine amateurs who sought to bring back the Greek plays to the modern stage."
"No good opera plot can be sensible. ... People do not sing when they are feeling sensible." [W.H. Auden, 1961]
As a branch of dramatic art, it is attested from 1759. Operatic (adj.) formed 1749, on model of dramatic. First record of opera glass "small binoculars for use at the theater" is from 1738. Soap opera is first recorded 1939, as a disparaging reference to daytime radio dramas sponsored by soap manufacturers. Operetta, with It. diminutive ending, first recorded 1770.

opus 
1809, "a work, composition," esp. a musical one," from L. opus "a work, labor, exertion" (cf. It. opera, Fr. oeuvre, Sp. obra), from PIE base *op- (Gmc. *ob-) "to work, produce in abundance," originally of agriculture later extended to religious acts (cf. Skt. apas- "work, religious act;" Avestan hvapah- "good deed;" O.H.G. uoben "to start work, to practice, to honor;" Ger. üben "to exercise, practice;" Du. oefenen, O.N. æfa, Dan. øve "to exercise, practice;" O.E. æfnan "to perform, work, do," afol "power"). The plural, seldom used, is opera.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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