Grand Opera
Parisian five-act spectacle of the 1830s, with history, huge choruses and ballet
Related
Grand opera was the dominant form at the Paris Opéra in the 1830s: five acts, historical subjects, vast choruses and orchestra, and a ballet in the middle of the evening. Auber's La muette de Portici, Rossini's Guillaume Tell and Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots mark its height.
It thinks in scenes: uprisings, religious conflict and court intrigue fill the stage, so the music leans on choruses, marches and huge finales while solo singing serves the whole. The drama is sung throughout, with no spoken dialogue, which separates it from opéra comique.
It is not a loose label for any large opera but a Parisian genre with institutional demands; unlike operetta it has no spoken comedy, and unlike musical theatre it does not rely on amplification or popular vocal style.
Sources
- 巴黎大歌剧的五幕体制、历史题材与芭蕾场面，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Grand opéra"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.