zarzuela

noun zar·zue·la \ ˌzär-zə-ˈwā-lə , ˌzär-ˈzwā- \

Definition of zarzuela

: a usually comic Spanish operetta

zarzuela was our Word of the Day on 01/21/2013. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of zarzuela from the Web

Martínez Casado, who played mother Juana, was stage-trained in opera and zarzuelas.

— carlos frías, miamiherald, "‘¿Qué Pasa, USA?’ cashes in, but cast feels left out: ‘They want to steal the whole thing’," 21 Dec. 2017
Rodriguez also pulls in more disparate strands from Frida’s time and place, including tangos and elements of zarzuela, ragtime, vaudeville and 1930s jazz.

— paul hodgins, Orange County Register, "Frida Kahlo’s life was an opera, so why not turn it into one?," 8 June 2017

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

Did You Know?

Zarzuela is connected with the Spanish opera La Zarzuela, which entranced audiences with its different vocal and musical styles. The word toured into English in the 18th century. Alfred Einstein (the musicologist cousin of Albert) assisted in its establishment in the language by including it in his 1947 work Music in the Romantic Era. More recently, the word has begun to appear on the Spanish culinary stage as a term for a rich and savory seafood dish. A couple of the specific entrées that have emerged are the piebald "zarzuela de maiscos," a mixture of seafood, and the "zarzuela de pescados," a potpourri of fish.