zarzuela means A form of Spanish opera having spoken dialogue and usually a comic subject.
zarzuela is pronounced /zɑɹˈzweɪlə/.
Why “zarzuela” is a great word
A Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, often on a comic or popular theme, or a Catalan seafood stew. From Spanish zarzuela, named after the Palace of La Zarzuela, a royal hunting lodge near Madrid where the genre was first performed in the 17th century; first attested in English circa 1770. Unlike opera, a continuous, fully sung drama of elevated tone, or bouillabaisse, a precisely codified Provençal fish stew, zarzuela is a hybrid born of popular soil. It is the sudden drop from aria into spoken banter in a gaslit teatro, the glint of saffron broth over langoustines and mussels in a rustic cazuela, and the warmth of a voice breaking off mid-sentence to laugh—one name for two arts that share an earthy, Iberian joy in blending disparate elements into a single, vibrant feast.
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish zarzuela, probably from the Palace of Zarzuela, royal residence near Madrid where it was first performed.
noun
- A form of Spanish opera having spoken dialogue and usually a comic subject.
- A Catalan fish soup or stew.e.g.“Only in Catalonia can you eat a proper zarzuela, a gargantuan fish soup; […].” — 1964, Jan Morris, “Plural Spain”, in Spain, Faber and Faber, published 2008, →ISBN:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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