ˈmelə+ˌ- noun
Etymology: modification (influenced by drama ) of French mélodrame, from mélo- melo- (I) + drame drama, from Late Latin drama — more at drama
1.
a. : a romantic sensational stage play interspersed with songs and orchestral music
b. : a recitation of a dramatic or lyric text to a musical background — compare duodrama , monodrama
2.
a. : a play characterized by extravagant theatricality, subordination of characterization to plot, and predominance of physical action
b. : the genre of dramatic literature constituted by such plays
3. : something resembling a melodrama ; especially : melodramatic events or behavior
a monster of villainy whose life and death prove that the most lurid melodrama still exists — Richard Watts