What does the term "opera buffa" mean?
Q: What does the term "opera buffa" mean?
A: Opera buffa is an Italian term meaning “comic opera”. It is mainly used for 18th century Italian comic operas.
Q: How does opera buffa contrast with opera seria?
A: Opera seria was supposed to be “serious”, while opera buffa was an entertaining musical comedy. The story in opera seria was typically a tragedy, whereas the story in opera buffa was told in recitative and featured arias that showed off the characters' feelings and voices.
Q: What other names were given to these types of operas during the 18th century?
A: During the 18th century, they called such operas by other names, e.g. “commedia in musica”, “dramma giocosa”, “operetta”, or “burlesca”.
Q: Was there any spoken dialogue in these operas?
A: No, like the opera seria everything was sung - there was no spoken dialogue. This was different from comic opera in other countries at this time period.
Q: What did intermezzo and farsa refer to?
A: An intermezzo or farsa referred to a short musical comedy that would be performed during intervals of a musical tragedy; however, it became increasingly difficult to tell them apart from full-length works as time went on due to their increasing length and complexity over time. Pergolesi's La Serva Padrone is an example of an intermezzo which became very famous after his death and influenced later works of opera buffa.
Q: What type of character traits were often included in these works?
A: Opera buffa always included a lot of caricature; characters would show human weaknesses such as stupidity, vanity, greed and affectation (people who were pretending to be wise and important). They also often poked fun at ruling classes or authority figures within society at large.
Q: Where did this type of music originate from?
A:OperabuffastartedinNaplesandgraduallyspreadtootherpartsofItaly;itwasparticularlypopularatcarnivaltimeandimportantcomposersofoperabuffaincludeCarloGoldoniandBaldassareGaluppi
