rock opera
4
4.8
- noun
- /rɑk ˈɑpərə/
:
rock opera
- For decades, Quadrophenia has been seen by many as a slightly inferior rock opera to Tommy, and this tour seems partially motivated by Townshend's desire to prove the two works are, at the least, equally worthy.
- rock opera "Tommy"
- rock opera "American Idiot"
- rock opera "Rent"
Hi, that's rock opera, Tommy, right?
- Hi, that's rock opera, Tommy, right?
Examples
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Our first album will be called "Poorly Maintained Teeth," and will be followed by an experimental rock opera called "Cranial Shark Fin."
Blog text (8) -
What's your rock opera about?
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This could be a new rock opera.
Blog text (31) -
I'm actually working on a rock opera.
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It was like a rock opera.
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Hi, that's rock opera, Tommy, right?
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Pink Floyd's sprawling 1979 rock opera
Blog text (9) -
Listening to the Legends in Our Lifetime radio broadcast featuring Evita was Tim Rice, the lyricist of the immensely successful rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.
Academic text (2004) -
The Who's 1973 rock opera, Quadrophenia, is one of their boldest and most fully realized albums, but it's never quite gotten the live show it deserves—until now.
Blog text (17) -
The rock opera 'Tommy' features powerful music and a compelling storyline.
Synonyms
1
5.4
A type of opera where music and story are equally important and the music follows the action
How Theatrical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines two genre nouns whose senses directly indicate a hybrid: 'rock' (a musical style) + 'opera' (a staged musical drama), so the meaning of a theatrical musical work in rock style is straightforwardly compositional. This pattern (e.g. Spanish 'ópera rock', French 'opéra rock') is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Rock opera came from bands in the 1960s who made long, dramatic albums that mixed loud electric music (rock) with the storytelling and big feelings of opera. Picture a stage story told with guitars and strong singing; that's why the term means 'a dramatic musical story told in rock style'.