Comic opera is a subcategory of opera, and denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature. In the long history of opera, this term has had many meanings: in Italy, opera buffa; in France, opéra comique; in Germany, singspiel; in Spain, zarzuela. Sometimes the term is loosely applied to operetta, although this is best viewed as a separate category.
In comic opera, dialogue is generally spoken rather than sung (although eighteenth-century Italian opera buffa is a major exception).
Both Italian and French forms of comic opera were hugely popular in Europe in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and constituted a major artistic export to other parts of Europe.
Comic Operas
