Index generum operarum
Hoc est glossarium inclusivum, varia nomina alterna praebens.

Opera est vocabulum principio Italianum, contractio locutionis opera in musica. Vocabulum merum in litteris criticis quotidianoque sermone est commune, quamquam raro in Italia (et quidem in aliis civitatibus) olim adhibitum est ad designanda separata operarum genera. Plurimi compositores nomina subtilioria adhibuerunt ad palam monstranda eorum artificia. Peculiaria operarum genera a theatris patronisve saepe mandata sunt, dum forma artificii aliquantum a generis normis discreparet.  Genera operarum non sunt "exclusiva." Aliquae operae habentur ad nonnulla genera simul pertinere. In casibus dubiis, sola auctoritas ad extremum est compositor ipse.
|-
| Comédie mêlée d'ariettes || Francica || Ad verbum, 'comoedia ariis brevibus commixta'.|| || La rencontre imprévue (1764), Tom Jones (1765), Le déserteur (1769), Zémire et Azor (1771) || || Gluck, Grétry ||
|-
| Commedia || Italiana || Compendium locutionis 'comoedia in musica' || || Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816) || || || 
|-
| Commedia in musica || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera buffa || || || || || 
|-
| Commedia per musica || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera buffa || || La pastorella nobile (1788)|| || || 
|-
| Componimento da camera || Italiana || Nomen alternum: azione teatrale || || || || || 
|-
| Componimento dramatico || Italiana || Nomen alternum: azione teatrale || || || || || 
|-
| Componimento pastorale || Italiana || Nomen alternum: azione teatrale || || La danza (Gluck, 1755) || || Gluck|| 
|-
| Conte lyrique || Francica || Nomen alternum: opéra lyrique || || Grisélidis (Massenet, 1901) || || || 
|-
| Divertimento giocoso || Italian || Nomen alternum: opera buffa || || || || || 
|-
| Dramatic (vel dramatick) opera || Anglica || Nomen alternum pro semi-opera || || || || ||
|-
| Drame forain || Francica || Nomen alternum: Comédie en vaudeville || || || || ||  
|-
| Drame lyrique || Francica || Ad verbum, 'drama melicum'. (1) Nomen saec. 18 adhibitum. (2) Saec. 19 exeunte iterum inventum ad describendam operam quae se ex opéra comique evolvit, a Massenet mota. || || Echo et Narcisse (1779), La marquise de Brinvilliers (1831), Werther (1892), Briséïs (1897), Messidor (1897) || || Gluck, Chabrier, Bruneau, Erlanger || 
|-
| Dramma bernesco || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera buffa || || || || || 
|-
| Dramma comico || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera buffa saeculorum 18 et 19 ineuntis. || || || || || 
|-
| Dramma comico per musica || Italiana || Nomen alternum: dramma comico || || || || ||
|-
| Dramma di sentimento || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera semiseria || || || || || 
|-
| Dramma eroicomico || Italiana || Ad verbum, 'drama heroico-comicum', genus operae buffae sawc. 18 exeunte cum nonnullis rebus heroicis. || || Orlando paladino (1782), Palmira, regina di Persia (1795)|| || Haydn, Salieri || 
|-
| Dramma giocoso|| Italiana || Ad verbum, 'drama ioculare' || || La scuola de' gelosi (1778), La vera costanza (1779), Il viaggio a Reims (1825), || || Haydn, Mozart, Salieri, Sarti, Rossini, Donizetti || 
|-
| Dramma giocoso per musica || Italiana || Nomen plenum dramma giocoso || || || || ||
|-
| Dramma pastorale || Italiana || Ad verbum, 'drama pastorale', nomen pro nonnullis operis primis ad saec. 18 adhibitum || || Eumelio (Agazzari, 1606), La fede riconosciuta (A Scarlatti, 1710) || || A Scarlatti, Sarti || 
|-
|Dramma per musica || Italiana || Ad verbum, 'drama pro musica', vel 'ludus ut in musica poni intentus' (i.e., libellus). Deinde idem declarans ut opera seria; saec. 19, aliquando pro opera seria adhibitum. || ||Erismena (1656), Tito Manlio (1719), Paride ed Elena (1770), Idomeneo (1781), Rossini's Otello (1816) || ||A Scarlatti, Cavalli, Vivaldi, Sarti, Gluck, Mozart || 
|-
| Dramma semiserio || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera semiseria || || Torvaldo e Dorliska (1815)|| || ||
|-
| Dramma tragicomico || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera semiseria || || Axur, re d'Ormus (1787)|| || || 
|-
| Entr'acte || Francica || Nomen alternum: intermezzo || || || || || 
|-
| Episode lyrique || Francica || Nomen alternum:: opéra lyrique || || || || || 
|-
| Fait historique || Francica || Saec. 18 exeunte et saec. 19 ineunte; opéra vel opéra comique in historia Francica condita, aetate Rerum Novarum Francicarum popularissima. || L'incendie du Havre (1786)|| Joseph Barra (Grétry 1794), Le pont de Lody (Méhul 1797), Miltonius (1804)|| || Grétry, Méhul, Spontini ||    
|-
| Farsa|| Italiana || Ad verbum, 'mimus'. || || La cambiale di matrimonio (1810), L'inganno felice (1812), La scala di seta (1812), Il signor Bruschino (1813), Adina (1818) || || Rossini|| 
|-
| Farsetta || Italiana || Nomen alternum: farsa || || || || || 
|-
| Feenmärchen || Theodisca || Nomen alternum: Märchenoper|| || || || || 
|-
| Festa teatrale || Italiana ||A grander version of the azione teatrale. An opera given as part of a court celebration (of a marriage etc.) Typically associated with Vienna.||Il pomo d'oro (Cesti, 1668) || || || Draghi, Fux, Caldara|| 
|-
| Geistliche Oper || Theodisca || Ad verbum 'opera sacra'.|| Das verlorene Paradies (Rubinstein, 1856) || Der Thurm zu Babel (1870), Sulamith (1883), Moses (1894) || Christus (Rubinstein, 1895) || Rubinstein || 
|-
| Género chico || Hispanica || Ad verbum 'parvum genus'. Genus zarzuelae, zarzuelae grandi brevius et popularius || || || || Ruperto Chapí ||
|-
| Género grande || Hispanica || Nomen alternum pro zarzuela grande || || || || ||
|-
| Grand opéra || Francica ||19th-century genre, usually with 4 or 5 acts, large-scale casts and orchestras, and spectacular staging, often based on historical themes. Particularly associated with the Paris Opéra (1820s to c. 1850), but similar works were created in other countries.||1828 La muette de Portici (1828) || Robert le diable (1831), La Juive (1835), Les Huguenots (1836) ||1886 Patrie! (Paladilhe, 1886)|| Meyerbeer, Halévy, Verdi ||
|-
| Handlung || German || Ad verbum, 'actio' vel 'drama'; descriptio Wagner Tristan und Isolde. || || || || Wagner ||
|-
| Intermezzo || Italiana || Comic relief inserted between acts of opere serie in the early 18th century, typically involving slapstick, disguises etc. Spread throughout Europe In the 1730s. Predated Opera buffa. ||1706 Frappolone e Florinetta (Gasparini?, 1706)|| La serva padrona (1733)|| || Pergolesi, Hasse || 
|-
| Liederspiel || Theodisca || Literally 'song-play'. Early 19th century genre in which existing lyrics, often well-known, were set to new music and inserted into a spoken play. || Lieb' und Treue (Reichardt, 1800)|| Kunst und Liebe (Reichardt, 1807)|| || Reichardt Lindpaintner ||
|-
| Lokalposse || Theodisca || Specialized form of Posse mit Gesang concentrating on daily life themes, associated with the playwright Karl von Marinelli. || || || || ||
|-
| Märchenoper || Theodisca || 'Fairy-tale opera', a genre of 19th century opera usually with a supernatural theme. Similar to Zauberoper.|| || Hänsel und Gretel (1893) || || Humperdinck, Siegfried Wagner || 
|-
| Märchenspiel || Theodisca || Nomen alternum: Märchenoper|| || || || || 
|-
| Melodramma || Italiana || Saec. 19. || || || || || 
|-
| Melodramma serio || Italiana || Nomen alternum: opera seria|| || || || ||
|-
| Musikdrama || Theodisca || Term associated with the later operas of Wagner but repudiated by him.  Nevertheless widely used by post-Wagnerian composers.  || || Tiefland (1903), Salome (1905), Der Golem (d'Albert 1926)|| || d'Albert, Richard Strauss ||  
|-
| Opéra || Francica ||Referring to individual works: 1. 18th century. Occasionally used for operas outside specific, standard genres.  2. 19th/20th century:  an opéra is a "French lyric stage work sung throughout"  in contrast to an opéra comique that mixed singing with spoken dialogue. Opéra (which included grand opéra), was associated with the Paris Opéra (the Opéra). Also used for some works with a serious tone at the Opéra-Comique. || || Naïs (1749), Fernand Cortez (1809), Moïse et Pharaon (1827), Les vêpres siciliennes (1855), Roméo et Juliette (1867) || || Grétry, Spontini, Rossini, Verdi, Gounod ||
|-
| Opéra-ballet || Francica || Genre with more dancing than tragédie en musique. Usually with a prologue and a number of self-contained acts (called entrées), following a theme. ||1697 L'Europe galante (1697) || Les élémens (1721), Les Indes galantes (1735), Les fêtes d'Hébé (1739) || ||  Destouches, Rameau || 
|-
| Opera ballo || Italiana || 19th-century Italian grand opéra. || || Il Guarany (1870), Aida (1871), La Gioconda (opera) (1876) || || Gomes, Verdi, Ponchielli || 
|-
| Opera buffa || Italiana || Major genre of comic opera in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Originating in Naples (especially the Teatro dei Fiorentini), its popularity spread during the 1730s, notably to Venice where development was influenced by the playwright/librettist Goldoni. Typically in three acts, unlike the intermezzo. Contrasting in style, subject matter, and the use of dialect with the formal, aristocratic opera seria. ||1706 La Cilla (Michelangelo Faggioli, 1706) || Li zite 'ngalera (1722), Il filosofo di campagna (Galuppi, 1754), La buona figliuola (1760), Le nozze di Figaro (1786), Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816), Don Pasquale (1843) ||1850 Crispino e la comare (1850)|| Vinci, Galuppi, Duni, Piccinni, Sacchini, Salieri, Mozart, Rossini || 
|-
| Opéra bouffe || Francica || Comicum operettae genus|| La belle Hélène (1864), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867), La Périchole (1868) || 1947 Les mamelles de Tirésias (1947) || Offenbach, Hervé, Lecocq || 
|-
| Opéra bouffon ||Francica || Opera buffa in Francia saeculi duodevicensimi monstrata || || Le roi Théodore à Venise (Paisiello, 1786)|| || || 
|-
| Opéra comique || Francica|| Ad verbum, 'opera comica'. Genre including arias, a certain amount of spoken dialogue (et aliquando cantus recitatorii). Arte conuncta cum operibus pro Lutetiae Opéra-Comique compositis. Themata fuerunt seria et tragica, as well as light. Tradition developed from popular early 18th century comédies en vaudevilles and lasted into 20th century with many changes in style. ||1715 Télémaque (Jean-Claude Gillier, 1715) || La dame blanche (1825), Carmen (1875), Lakmé (1883)|| || Grétry, Boieldieu, Auber, || 
|-
| Opéra comique en vaudeville || Francica || Nomen alternum: comédie en vaudeville|| || || || ||
|-
| Opéra féerie ||French || 18th/19th century genre of works based on fairy tales, often involving magic.
|| || Zémire et Azor (1771), Cendrillon (1810), La belle au bois dormant (1825) || || Carafa, Isouard || 
|-
| Opéra lyrique || Francica || Ad verbum, 'opera melica'; saeculis XVIII exeunte et XIX.|| || || || Gounod, Ambrosius Thomas, Massenet || 
|-
| Opera semiseria || Italiana || Saec. 19 ineunte et medio ||1799 Camilla (Paer, 1799) || La gazza ladra (1817), Linda di Chamounix (1842) ||1853 Violetta (Mercadante, 1853)|| Paer, Rossini, Donizetti || 
|-
| Opera seria|| Italiana || Dominans operae modus saeculo duodevicensimo, non solum in Italia, sed pper Europam praeter Franciam. || || Griselda (1721), Cleofide (Hasse, 1731), Ariodante (1735), Alceste (1767), La clemenza di Tito (1791) || || Alessandro Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Hasse, Handel, Gluck, Mozart||  
|-
| Opéra-tragédie || Francica || Nomen alternum: tragédie en musique|| || || || || 
|-
| Operetta || Anglica (ex Italiana) || Ad verbum 'parva opera'. || Princess Toto (1876), Rip Van Winkle (1882), Naughty Marietta (1910), Monsieur Beaucaire (1919), The Student Prince (1924), The Vagabond King (1925)|| Candide (1956) || Sullivan, Herbert, Romberg, Friml, Leonard Bernstein ||  
|-
| Opérette || Francica || French operetta. Original genre of light (both of music and subject matter) opera that grew out of the French opéra comique in the mid 19th century. Associated with the style of the Second Empire by the works of Offenbach, though his best known examples are designated subgenerically as opéras bouffes. ||1842 L'ours et le pacha (Hervé, 1842)|| Madame Papillon (Offenbach, 1855), Les mousquetaires au couvent (1880), Les p'tites Michu (1897), Ciboulette (1923)|| || Hervé, Offenbach, Varney, Messager, Hahn || 
|-
| Opérette bouffe || Francica || Subgenus generis opérette|| || La bonne d'enfant (1856), M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . . (1861)|| || Offenbach || 
|-
| Opérette vaudeville (or vaudeville opérette) || Francica || Subgenre of French opérette.||1842 L'ours et le pacha (Hervé, 1842) || Mam'zelle Nitouche (1883)|| || Hervé, Victor Roger || 
|-
| Operette || Theodisca || German operetta. Popular Viennese genre during the 19th and 20th centuries, created under the influence of Offenbach and spread to Berlin, Budapest, and other German and east European cities.||1860 Das Pensionat (Suppé, 1860)|| Die Fledermaus (1874), The Merry Widow (1905), Das Land des Lächelns (1929) || Frühjahrsparade (Robert Stolz, 1964)|| Johann Strauss II, Lehár, Oscar Straus || 
|-
| Pasticcio || Italiana || Ad verbum 'a pie' or a hotchpotch. An adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic. Also used for a single work by a number of different composers, particularly in early 18th-century London. || || Thomyris (Pepusch, Bononcini, Scarlatti, Gasparini, Albinoni, 1707) Muzio Scevola (1721), Ivanhoé (1826) || || Handel, Vivaldi || 
|-
| Pièce lyrique || Francica ||Nomen alternum: opéra lyrique || || || || || 
|-
| Pastorale héroïque ||Francica || Type of ballet héroïque (opéra-ballet). Usually in three acts with an allegorical prologue, that typically drew on classical themes associated with pastoral poetry. ||1686 Acis et Galatée (1686)|| Issé (1697), Zaïs (1748), Naïs (1749)|| || Lully, Rameau || 
|-
| Posse ||German || Nomen alternum: Posse mit Gesang || || || || || 
|-
| Posse mit Gesang || Theodisca || Literally, 'farce with singing'. Popular entertainment of late 18th/early 19th centuries, associated with Vienna, Berlin and Hamburg. Similar to the Singspiel, but with more action and less music. || || Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind (Raimund, 1828) || || Kreutzer, Müller, Schubert || 
|-
| Possenspiel || Theodisca || early name for Posse mit Gesang || || || || || 
|-
| Possenspil || Theodisca || early name for Posse mit Gesang || || || || || 
|-
| Rappresentazione sacra || Italiana ||alternative name for azione sacra || || || || || 
|-
| Romantische Oper || Theodisca || Early 19th-century German genre derived from earlier French opéras comiques, dealing with 'German' themes of nature, the supernatural, folklore etc. Spoken dialogue, originally included with musical numbers, was eventually eliminated in works by Richard Wagner. ||1821 Der Freischütz (1821) || Hans Heiling (1833), Undine (1845), Tannhäuser (1845) ||1850 Lohengrin (1850) || Weber, Marschner, Lortzing, Wagner|| 
|-
| Sainete || Hispanica || Literally, 'farce' or 'titbit'. 17th/18th century genre of comic opera similar to the Italian intermezzo, performed together with larger works. Popular in Madrid in the latter 18th century. During 19th century, the Sainete was synonymous with género chico.||1632 Il mago (1632)|| || || Pablo Esteve, Soler, Antonio Rosales||  
|-
| Sainetillo || Hispanica || Diminutive of sainete|| || || || || 
|-
| Savoy opera  || Anglica ||19th-century form of comic opera comprising the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and other works from 1881 to 1903 that played at the Savoy Theatre in London.  These influenced the rise of musical theatre. ||1875 Trial by Jury (1875)|| H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1880), The Mikado (1885), The Gondoliers (1889), Merrie England (1902)||1903 A Princess of Kensington (1903)|| Sullivan, Solomon German||
|-
| Saynète ||Francica || French for sainete. Description used for a particular style of opérette in the 19th century.|| || La caravane de l'amour (Hervé, 1854), Le rêve d'une nuit d'été (Offenbach, 1855), Le valet de coeur (Planquette, 1875) || || Hervé, Offenbach, Planquette || 
|-
| Schauspiel mit Gesang || Theodisca || Literally, 'play with singing'. Term used by Goethe for his early libretti, though he called them Singspiele when revising them. ||1775 Erwin und Elmire (Goethe 1775)|| Liebe nur beglückt (Reichardt, 1781), Die Teufels Mühle am Wienerberg (Müller 1799) || || ||
|-
| Schuloper || Theodisca || Literally, 'school opera'. Early 20th century, opera created for performance by school children. || || Der Jasager (1930), Wir bauen eine Stadt (Hindemith, 1930) || || Weill, Hindemith || 
|-
| Semi-opera || Anglica ||Early form of opera with singing, speaking and dancing roles. Popular between 1673 and 1710.||1674 The Tempest (Betterton, 1674) ||Psyche (1675), King Arthur (1691), The Fairy-Queen (1692) || || Purcell|| 
|-
| Sepolcro || Italiana || Azione sacra on the subject of the passion and crucifixion of Christ. || || || ||  Draghi || 
|-
| Serenata || Italiana || Ad verbum, 'cantus vespertinus'. Opera brevis in aulis regiis adhibita pro celebrationibus, azione teatrale similis. || || Acis and Galatea (1720), Il Parnaso confuso (Gluck 1765)|| ||Handel, Gluck ||
|-
| Singspiel || Theodisca|| Ad verbum, 'cantus ludus'.||1752 Der Teufel ist los (Johann Georg Standfuss, 1752) || Die verwandelten Weiber (1766), Die Jagd (1770), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), Abu Hassan (1811) || || Hiller, Mozart, Weber||  
|-
| Situationsposse || Theodisca || Forma propria Posse mit Gesang || || || || ||
|-
| Songspiel || Theodisca || Ad verbum, 'cantus ludus'. Nomen a Curtio Weill excogitatum ad renovandam significationem nominis Singspiel || || Mahagonny-Songspiel (1927)||  || Curtius Weill ||
|-
| Spieloper || Theodisca || Ad verbum, 'ludus opera'. || || Zar und Zimmermann (1837), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1849) || || Lortzing, Nicolai || 
|-
| Syngespil || Danica || Local form of Singspiel. Late 18th/19th century. || || Soliman den Anden (Sarti, 1770), Holger Danske (1787), Høstgildet (Schulz, 1790) || ||Sarti, Schulz, Kunzen || 
|-
| Tonadilla || Hispanica || Ad verbum, 'parvus tonus. 18th century miniature satirical genre, for one or more singer, that developed out of the sainete. Exsecutua inter longiora artificia.|| || La mesonera y el arriero (Luis Misón, 1757) || || Antonio Guerrero, Misón, José Palomino|| 
|-
| Tragédie || Francica || Nomen alternum: tragédie en musique|| || || || || 
|-
| Tragédie en musique ||Francica || Genus lyricum saeculorum 17 et 18, cum rebus ex mythologica classica et Italicis Tassi et Ariosti epicis, non omnino tragicum. Usitate 5 actus, aliquando cum prologus. Ariae breves (petits airs) a diverbio in cantu recitatorio differunt, cum sectionibus choralibus et saltatione.||1673 Cadmus et Hermione (1673)|| Médée (1693), Scylla et Glaucus (1746)|| || Lully, Marais, Montéclair, Campra, Rameau || 
|-
| Tragédie lyrique || Francica || Nomen alternum: tragédie en musique|| || || || || 
|-
| Tragédie mise en musique || Francica || Nomen alternum: tragédie en musique || || || || || 
|-
| Tragédie-opéra || Francica || Nomen alternum: tragédie en musique|| || || || || 
|-
| Verismo || Italiana || Late 19th/early 20th century opera movement inspired by literary naturalism and realism, and associated with Italian post-romanticism.||1890 Cavalleria rusticana (1890)|| Pagliacci (1892), Tosca (1900) || || Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Giordano|| 
|-
| Volksmärchen || Theodisca || Nomen alternum: Märchenoper|| || Das Donauweibchen (Kauer 1798) || || || 
|-
| Zarzuela || Hispanica || Ex saeculo 17 et iam exstans; cantum, diverbium, saltationem comprehendit. Memoriae propriae in Cuba et Philippinis inveniuntur.||1629 La selva sin amor (Lope de Vega, 1627) || Doña Francisquita (1923), La dolorosa (1930), Luisa Fernanda (1932)|| || Hidalgo, Barbieri || 
|-
| Zauberoper || Theodisca || Ad verbum, 'opera magica'. ||1789 Oberon, König der Elfen (Wranitzky, 1789) || Die Zauberflöte (1791), Das Donauweibchen, (Kauer, 1798)|| || Kauer, Müller, Schubert||
|-
| Zauberposse || German || Specialized form of Posse mit Gesang concentrating on magic. || || Der Barometermacher auf der Zauberinsel (Müller 1823)|| || Müller ||
|-
| Zeitoper|| Theodisca || Ad verbum opera temporis'. Decenniis 192 & 193 ineunte, using contemporary settings and characters, including references to modern technology and popular music. || || Jonny spielt auf (1927)|| || Krenek, Weill, Hindemith || 
|-
| Zwischenspiel || Theodisca || Nomen Theodiscum pro intermezzo || || Pimpinone (1725) || || || 
|}

 Intermedium (Italiane intermedio)
 Madrigal comedy
 Madrigale concertato
 Masque

Notae

!
Indices musicae
+