Noun
opera with a happy ending and in which some of the text is spoken
Source: WordNetAinger, pp. 217–19 In February 1883, he and Gilbert signed a five-year agreement with Carte, requiring them to produce a new comic opera on six months' notice. Source: Internet
Ainger, pp. 107–08 This proved a success, and in 1876 D'Oyly Carte assembled a group of financial backers to establish the Comedy Opera Company, which was devoted to the production and promotion of family-friendly English comic opera. Source: Internet
Ainger, p. 134 The first comic opera produced by the new company was Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer in 1877, with a plot involving a tradesmanlike London magician and his patented love potion. Source: Internet
Arne was the first English composer to experiment with Italian-style all-sung comic opera, with his greatest success being Thomas and Sally in 1760. Source: Internet
By contrast, arias in opera buffa (comic opera) were often specific in character to the nature of the character being portrayed (for example the cheeky servant-girl or the irascible elderly suitor or guardian). Source: Internet
Britten's comic opera is heavily based upon use of the ensemble. Source: Internet