The word ‘opera’ stems from the Latin word ‘opus’ and suggests the combination of the many art forms that fuse together to create an opera presentation. Opera has prospered all over the world as a medium of communication involving a complete variety of human sentiments. I have gauged from my experiences and literary knowledge that the fundamental nature of the ‘opera buffa’ is to present mockery, parody, and sarcasm, collectively with flashes of earnestness and genuine human sentiments.
The English form of the ‘ballad opera’, Spanish form or the ‘zarzuela’ and the Viennese or the ‘operetta’, all aided the establishment of the opera as a form of entertainment which continues to enjoy immense recognition all over the globe. Today, composers like John Adams, Philip Glass, and John Corigliano are immensely successful globally and are responsible for the inculcation of fresh verve into the art form which is in the continuous process of evolution even today. The ‘Opera buffa’, which employs simplicity in design, is the humorous or satirical genre, developed towards the end of the eighteenth century and portrays realistically the everyday life of humans.
An important feature is the ‘Patter songs’ or the tongue twisters like: “She sells seashells at the seashore,” or “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” This genre was skillfully used by Mozart to reveal the varying social and political upheavals of the eighteenth century. ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ (1786) by Mozart is considered to be one of the greatest opera buffas and is a humorous depiction of the political and social conflicts subsisting in his existing culture. Theater, to which music was added for enhancement of effective portrayal of emotions on the stage, has been in existence for hundreds of years, entertaining people with operas long before the invention of television and radio. Operas are thus a very special form of art reflecting deepest human emotions, and effectively merge drama and music to create the eternal art enjoyed all over the world these days.