Plural of opera; dramatic performances with singing, orchestral music, and often elaborate costumes and scenery.
From Italian 'opera' (work or deed), from Latin 'opera' (work, effort). The art form emerged in Renaissance Italy around 1600 as composers combined drama, music, and spectacle into unified theatrical works.
Opera was basically the ancient world's version of movies—before we had screens, people gathered to watch singers perform dramatic stories with live orchestras, and it required cutting-edge technology like hydraulic stage machinery.
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