opera bouffe

Alternative forms

• opéra bouffe

Etymology

From French opéra bouffe.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɒp(ə)ɹəˈbuːf/

Noun

opera bouffe (countable and uncountable, plural operas bouffes)

1. A type of French comic opera, typified by everyday characters and ludicrous situations. (Often attributive.) [from 19th c.]
   • 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York Review Books 2006, p. 176:

     There was one moment of opéra bouffe when the plump Biaggi and two other plotters were trapped in an antique Parisian lift between floors on the way to a top-level and secret meeting.