(Ger.).
A type of German 19th-century Comic opera with spoken dialogue between set musical numbers; there is no clear distinction between Spielopera and Singspiel (see Singspiel, §2). Examples include Kreutzer’s Das Nachtlager von Granada (1834), Lortzing’s Zar und Zimmermann (1839) and Der Wildschütz (1842), Flotow’s Martha (1847), Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weibern von Windsor (1849) and Cornelius’s Der Barbier von Bagdad (1858). It has also been used for non-German works such as Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict (1862) and Smetana’s The Bartered Bride (1866).
The term has also been used for an all-sung opera as opposed to one with spoken dialogue (a Sprechoper).