Opera seria (; plural:
opere serie; usually called
dramma per musica or
melodramma serio) is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of
Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770. The term itself was rarely used at the time and only attained common usage once
opera seria was becoming unfashionable and beginning to be viewed as a historical genre. The popular rival to
opera seria was
opera buffa, the 'comic' opera that took its cue from the improvisatory
commedia dell'arte.