Editing Opera buffa (section)

==History==
[[File:Alessandro Scarlatti.jpg|thumb|[[Alessandro Scarlatti]], one of the first major composers of opera buffa]]
Comic characters had been a part of opera until the early 18th century, when opera buffa began to emerge as a separate genre, an early precursor having been the operatic comedy, ''[[Il Trespolo tutore]]'', by [[Alessandro Stradella]], in 1679. Opera buffa was a parallel development to ''[[opera seria]]'', and arose in reaction to the so-called first reform of [[Apostolo Zeno]] and [[Pietro Metastasio]].<ref name=tenth/> It was, in part, intended as a genre that the common man could relate to more easily. Whereas ''opera seria'' was an entertainment that was both made for and depicted kings and nobility, opera buffa was made for and depicted common people with more common problems. High-flown language was generally avoided in favor of dialogue that the lower class would relate to, often in the local dialect, and the stock characters were often derived from those of the Italian [[commedia dell'arte]]. The 1701 ''scherzo drammatico'' (dramatic jest), ''Il mondo abbattuto'' by [[Nicola Sabini]] was particularly influential in Naples, creating a popular model due to its use of both Tuscan and Neapolitan dialects.<ref>{{cite Grove|last=Jackman|first=James L.|others=Revised by Francesca Seller|year=2001|title=Sabini [Sabino], Nicola|id=24234}}</ref>

In the early 18th century, comic operas often appeared as short, one-act interludes known as [[intermezzo|intermezzi]] that were performed in between acts of opera seria. There also existed, however, self-contained operatic comedies. {{Lang|it|[[La serva padrona]]}} (1733) by [[Giovanni Battista Pergolesi]] (1710–1736), is the one intermezzo still performed with any regularity today, and provides an excellent example of the style. ''[[Lo frate 'nnamorato]]'' (1732) and ''[[Il Flaminio]]'' (1735), by Pergolesi as well, are examples of the three-act ''commedia per musica''.<ref>Both operas by Pergolesi were originally styled a {{lang|it|commedia per musica}} by their own librettos (to be precise, {{lang|nap|commeddeja pe mmuseca}} in [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]] as regards the former): cf [http://www.variantiallopera.it/public/testo/testo/codice/FRATE%7CI-N32%7C000 ''Lo frate ’nnamorato'', 1732] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=wIr5mQpljFkC&q=Il+Flaminio+1735 ''Il Flaminio'', 1735].</ref>

Apart from Pergolesi, the first major composers of opera buffa were [[Alessandro Scarlatti]] (''[[Il trionfo dell'onore]]'', 1718), [[Nicola Logroscino]] (''Il governatore'', 1747) and [[Baldassare Galuppi]] (''[[Il filosofo di campagna]]'', 1754), all of them based in [[Naples]] or [[Venice]]. The work of these was then resumed and expanded by [[Niccolò Piccinni]] (''[[La buona figliuola|La Cecchina]]'', 1760), [[Giovanni Paisiello]] (''[[Nina (opera)|Nina]]'', 1789) and [[Domenico Cimarosa]] (''[[Il matrimonio segreto]]'', 1792). The genre declined in the mid-19th century, despite [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s ''[[Falstaff (opera)|Falstaff]]'' staged in 1893.

The importance of opera buffa diminished during the [[Romantic music|Romantic period]]. Here, the forms were freer and less extended than in the serious genre and the set numbers were linked by recitativo secco, the exception being [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[Don Pasquale]]'' in 1843. With Rossini, a standard distribution of four characters is reached: a prima donna soubrette (soprano or mezzo); a light, amorous tenor; a {{lang|it|basso cantante}} or baritone capable of lyrical, mostly ironical expression; and a {{lang|it|basso buffo}} whose vocal skills, largely confined to clear articulation and the ability to "patter", must also extend to the baritone for the purposes of comic duets.<ref>Fisher, Burton D. ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' (Opera Classics Library Series). Grand Rapids: Opera Journeys, 2005.</ref>

The type of comedy could vary, and the range was great: from [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini's]] ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' in 1816 which was purely comedic, to [[Mozart]]'s ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' in 1786 which added drama and pathos. Another example of Romantic opera buffa would be Donizetti's ''[[L'elisir d'amore|The Elixir of Love]]'' of 1832.