Opéra bouffe

Not to be confused with Opera buffa.

Opéra bouffe (French pronunciation: [ɔpeʁa buf], plural: opéras bouffes) is a genre of mid- to late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name.^[1]

It differs from the opéra comique of the same period for elements of comedy, satire, parody and farce.^[1] The most famous examples are La belle Hélène, Barbe-bleue (Bluebeard), La Vie parisienne, La Périchole and La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein.

References

1. Bartlet, M. Elizabeth C. (2001). "Opéra bouffe (Fr.)". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.43698. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.