MUSIC DRAMA

add. ·- an opera in which the text and action are not interrupted by set arias, duets, ·etc., the music being determined throughout by dramatic appropriateness; musical drama of this character, in general. it involves the use of a kind of melodious declamation, the development of leitmotif, great orchestral elaboration, and a fusion of poetry, music, action, and scene into an organic whole. the term is applied ·esp. to the later works of wagner: "tristan und isolde," "die meistersinger," "rheingold," "walkure," "siegfried," "gotterdammerung," and "parsifal.".