music drama

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of music drama

: an opera in which the action is not interrupted by formal song divisions (such as recitatives or arias) and the music is determined solely by dramatic appropriateness

Recent Examples of music drama from the Web

Long Beach Opera stages the West Coast premiere of this 1940s-era chamber-music drama based on the medieval tale of Tristan and Isolde.

— matt cooper, latimes.com, "Weekend Picks: 'Hamilton' returns, 'The Love Potion' opens and Pop-Up takes the stage," 10 May 2018
Indie music drama with Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons.

— chris foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Summer movie guide: New 'Avengers,' 'Deadpool,' 'Mamma Mia,' 'Jurassic World' and more," 20 Apr. 2018
That’s a lofty goal, particularly for a music drama that works through abstract, mostly wordless means.

— seth colter walls, New York Times, "Review: Meredith Monk, Still Peerless at Shocking Serenity," 15 Mar. 2018
That reality lends topical resonance to the affecting music drama by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "A gay love affair in '50s D.C. plays out to touching effect in 'Fellow Travelers'," 18 Mar. 2018
According to a new report from Deadline, T.I has already nabbed his next acting role: this time for the upcoming music drama Glow Up.

— nerisha penrose, Billboard, "T.I. to Star In & Co-Produce Upcoming Music Drama 'Glow Up'," 1 Mar. 2018
The order brings Star's season two total to 18 episodes -- the same as Daniels' other Fox music drama Empire.

— kate stanhope, The Hollywood Reporter, "Lee Daniels' 'Star' Gets Additional Season 2 Episode Order at Fox," 9 Oct. 2017
Fox is looking to Mary J. Blige and choreographer Laurieann Gibson for its next music drama.

— lesley goldberg, Billboard, "Mary J. Blige to Produce Music Drama For Fox," 7 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'music drama.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.