View source for Opera buffa

{{Short description|Italian opera genre associated with humor}}
{{Distinguish|Opéra bouffe}}
{{Redirect|Buffa|the surname|Buffa (surname)}}
[[File:L'elisir d'amore 10 2013.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''[[L'elisir d'amore]]'', 1832 opera buffa]]
'''Opera buffa''' ({{IPA|it|ˈɔːpera ˈbuffa|lang}}, "comic opera"; {{plural form}}: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of [[opera]]. It was first used as an informal description of Italian [[comic opera]]s variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesco'', ''dramma comico'', ''divertimento giocoso''.

Especially associated with developments in [[Naples]] in the first half of the 18th century, whence its popularity spread to [[Rome]] and [[northern Italy]], ''buffa'' was at first characterized by everyday settings, local dialects, and simple vocal writing (the [[basso buffo]] is the associated voice type), the main requirement being clear diction and facility with [[patter song|patter]].

''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'' considers ''La Cilla'' (music by [[Michelangelo Faggioli]], text by {{ill|Francesco Antonio Tullio|it}}, 1706) and [[Luigi Ricci (composer)|Luigi]] and [[Federico Ricci]]'s'' [[Crispino e la comare]]'' (1850) to be the first and last appearances of the genre, although the term is still occasionally applied to newer work (for example [[Ernst Krenek]]'s ''[[Zeitoper]]'' ''[[Schwergewicht]]''). High points in this history are the 80 or so libretti by Carlindo Grolo, Loran Glodici, Sogol Cardoni<ref name =tenth>Patrick J. Smith: ''The Tenth Muse'' (Schirmer 1970) p. 103.</ref> and various other approximate [[anagram]]s of [[Carlo Goldoni]], the three [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]/[[Lorenzo Da Ponte|Da Ponte]] collaborations, and the comedies of [[Gioachino Rossini]] and [[Gaetano Donizetti]].

Similar foreign genres such as French ''[[opéra comique]]'', English ''[[ballad opera]]'', Spanish ''[[zarzuela]]'' or German ''[[Singspiel]]'' differed as well in having spoken dialogue in place of ''[[recitativo]] secco'', although one of the most influential examples, [[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi|Pergolesi]]'s {{Lang|it|[[La serva padrona]]}} (which is an [[intermezzo]], not opera buffa), sparked the ''[[querelle des bouffons]]'' in Paris as an adaptation without sung [[recitative]]s.

==Opéra bouffon==
[[Opéra bouffon]] is the French term for the Italian genre of opera buffa (comic opera) performed in 18th-century France, either in the original language or in French translation. It was also applied to original French [[opéras comiques]] having Italianate or near-farcical plots.<ref>{{Cite Grove|last=Bartlet|first=M. Elizabeth C.|author-link=Elizabeth Bartlet (musicologist)|title=Opéra bouffon|id=43699|year=2001}}</ref>

The term was also later used by [[Jacques Offenbach]] for five of his [[operetta]]s (''[[Orphée aux enfers]]'', ''[[Le pont des soupirs]]'', ''[[Geneviève de Brabant]]'', ''{{ill|Le roman comique|fr|Le Roman comique (opéra)}}'' and ''Le voyage de MM. Dunanan père et fils''<ref>{{IMSLP|work=Le voyage de MM. Dunanan père et fils (Offenbach, Jacques)|cname=''Le voyage de MM. Dunanan père et fils'' (Offenbach)}}</ref>), and is sometimes confused with the French [[opéra comique]] and [[opéra bouffe]].<ref>Notably André-Guillaume Contant d'Orville (''Histoire de l'opéra bouffon'', Amsterdam, 1768, [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k81713/f1.image Vol. I] and [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k8172d/f7.image Vol. II]) used the term as a synonym for ''opéra comique'' {{harv|Bartlet|2001}}.</ref>

==History==
[[File:Alessandro Scarlatti.jpg|thumb|[[Alessandro Scarlatti]], one of the first major composers of opera buffa]]
Comic characters had been a part of opera until the early 18th century, when opera buffa began to emerge as a separate genre, an early precursor having been the operatic comedy, ''[[Il Trespolo tutore]]'', by [[Alessandro Stradella]], in 1679. Opera buffa was a parallel development to ''[[opera seria]]'', and arose in reaction to the so-called first reform of [[Apostolo Zeno]] and [[Pietro Metastasio]].<ref name=tenth/> It was, in part, intended as a genre that the common man could relate to more easily. Whereas ''opera seria'' was an entertainment that was both made for and depicted kings and nobility, opera buffa was made for and depicted common people with more common problems. High-flown language was generally avoided in favor of dialogue that the lower class would relate to, often in the local dialect, and the stock characters were often derived from those of the Italian [[commedia dell'arte]]. The 1701 ''scherzo drammatico'' (dramatic jest), ''Il mondo abbattuto'' by [[Nicola Sabini]] was particularly influential in Naples, creating a popular model due to its use of both Tuscan and Neapolitan dialects.<ref>{{cite Grove|last=Jackman|first=James L.|others=Revised by Francesca Seller|year=2001|title=Sabini [Sabino], Nicola|id=24234}}</ref>

In the early 18th century, comic operas often appeared as short, one-act interludes known as [[intermezzo|intermezzi]] that were performed in between acts of opera seria. There also existed, however, self-contained operatic comedies. {{Lang|it|[[La serva padrona]]}} (1733) by [[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi]] (1710–1736), is the one intermezzo still performed with any regularity today, and provides an excellent example of the style. ''[[Lo frate 'nnamorato]]'' (1732) and ''[[Il Flaminio]]'' (1735), by Pergolesi as well, are examples of the three-act ''commedia per musica''.<ref>Both operas by Pergolesi were originally styled a {{lang|it|commedia per musica}} by their own librettos (to be precise, {{lang|nap|commeddeja pe mmuseca}} in [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]] as regards the former): cf [http://www.variantiallopera.it/public/testo/testo/codice/FRATE%7CI-N32%7C000 ''Lo frate ’nnamorato'', 1732] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=wIr5mQpljFkC&q=Il+Flaminio+1735 ''Il Flaminio'', 1735].</ref>

Apart from Pergolesi, the first major composers of opera buffa were [[Alessandro Scarlatti]] (''[[Il trionfo dell'onore]]'', 1718), [[Nicola Logroscino]] (''Il governatore'', 1747) and [[Baldassare Galuppi]] (''[[Il filosofo di campagna]]'', 1754), all of them based in [[Naples]] or [[Venice]]. The work of these was then resumed and expanded by [[Niccolò Piccinni]] (''[[La buona figliuola|La Cecchina]]'', 1760), [[Giovanni Paisiello]] (''[[Nina (opera)|Nina]]'', 1789) and [[Domenico Cimarosa]] (''[[Il matrimonio segreto]]'', 1792). The genre declined in the mid-19th century, despite [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]'' staged in 1893.

The importance of opera buffa diminished during the [[Romantic music|Romantic period]]. Here, the forms were freer and less extended than in the serious genre and the set numbers were linked by recitativo secco, the exception being [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[Don Pasquale]]'' in 1843. With Rossini, a standard distribution of four characters is reached: a prima donna soubrette (soprano or mezzo); a light, amorous tenor; a {{lang|it|basso cantante}} or baritone capable of lyrical, mostly ironical expression; and a {{lang|it|basso buffo}} whose vocal skills, largely confined to clear articulation and the ability to "patter", must also extend to the baritone for the purposes of comic duets.<ref>Fisher, Burton D. ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' (Opera Classics Library Series). Grand Rapids: Opera Journeys, 2005.</ref>

The type of comedy could vary, and the range was great: from [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini's]] ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' in 1816 which was purely comedic, to [[Mozart]]'s ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' in 1786 which added drama and pathos. Another example of Romantic opera buffa would be Donizetti's ''[[L'elisir d'amore|The Elixir of Love]]'' of 1832.

==Relation to and differences from ''opera seria''==
While ''[[opera seria]]'' deals with gods and ancient heroes and only occasionally contained comic scenes, opera buffa involves the predominant use of comic scenes, characters, and plot lines in a contemporary setting. The traditional model for ''opera seria'' had three acts, dealt with serious subjects in mythical settings, as stated above, and used high voices (both [[soprano]]s and [[castrati]]) for principal characters, often even for monarchs.

In contrast, the model that generally held for opera buffa was having two acts (as, for example, ''The Barber of Seville''), presenting comic scenes and situations as earlier stated and using the lower male voices to the exclusion of the [[castrato|castrati]].<ref>[[Warrack, John]]; West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', {{ISBN|0-19-869164-5}}{{page needed|date=August 2023}}</ref> This led to the creation of the characteristic "[[basso buffo]]", a specialist in [[Patter song|patter]] who was the center of most of the comic action. (A well-known basso buffo role is Leporello in [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart's]] ''[[Don Giovanni]]''.)

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy|Opera}}
* [[Musical comedies]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
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* [[Cliff Eisen|Eisen, Cliff]], et al. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40258pg3 "Mozart" in ''Grove Music Online''], ''Oxford Music Online'' sections 7&ndash;10. {{subscription required}}
* [[Donald Jay Grout|Grout, Donald]], ''A Short History of Opera''. New York, Columbia University Press, 1965.
* Hunter, Mary (1999), ''The Culture of ''opera buffa'' in Mozart's Vienna: A Poetics of Entertainment''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1999. (reviewed in: Stevens, Jane R. "Shifting Focus to Mozart's Operas". ''[[Eighteenth-Century Studies]]'', vol. 35, no. 1 (Fall 2001) pp.&nbsp;160–162.)
* Opera buffa. ''World Book Online Reference Center''. 2008.
* [[Roger Parker|Parker, Roger]], ''The Oxford illustrated History of Opera''
* Platoff, John (1992). "How Original Was Mozart? Evidence from "Opera Buffa"." ''[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]'': vol. 20, no. 1. Oxford University Press, February 1992. pp. 105–117.
* {{cite Grove|last1=Weiss|first1=Piero|author1-link=Piero Weiss|last2=Budden|first2=Julian|author2-link=Julian Budden|title=Opera buffa (It.: 'comic opera')|year=2001|id=43721|ref=none}}
* [[James Webster (musicologist)|Webster, James]]; Hunter, Mary (1997). ''Opera Buffa in Mozart's Vienna''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England 1997. (reviewed in: Baker, Nicole. "Untitled". ''[[Notes (journal)|Notes]]'', second series, vol. 56, no. 1 (September 1999) pp.&nbsp;138–140.)
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{{Opera genres|state=expanded}}
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[[Category:Opera buffa| ]]
[[Category:Italian opera terminology]]
[[Category:Opera genres]]