opera

[fordward]

when is an opera a grand opera?

[JoolsTwo]

I found this in Wikipedia - I don't know if it is any help.

Grand Opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage-effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events. The term is particularly applied to certain productions of the Paris Op�ra from the late 1820s to around 1850, (and has sometimes been used to designate the Paris Op�ra itself) but is also used in a broader application in respect of contemporary or later works of similar monumental proportions from France, Germany, Italy and other European countries.[1].

Opera is a form of musical and dramatic work in which singers convey the drama.[1] Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition.[2] An opera performance incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes incorporates dance. The performance is usually given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble.

[syruphead]

grand opera is opera without dialogue esp if the subject is very dramatic or emotional - according to Chambers Dictionary

[JoolsTwo]

These are the links


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Opera

[syruphead]

Chambers agrees with the oxford companion to music "it properly means opera of which the libretto is entirely set to music, i.e. with no spoken dialogue".

[fordward]

thankyou all, much obliged

[Dustybun]

just an observation - at the other end of the scale (no pun intended)there is also operetta, where words are both spoken and sung and the drama tends to be not quite so heavy. eg Gilbert & Sullivan.