Drama can refer to dramatic arts in general (performed on stage), but mostly it means a serious piece where some kind of an emotional conflict is involved. read more
Not all opera is drama: there is a also long tradition of comic operas (opera buffa). Many of the popular favourites and most performed operas are comedies, for example Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart and Il barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini. read more
As nouns the difference between drama and opera is that drama is a composition, normally in prose, telling a story and intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue while opera is (music) a theatrical work combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance. read more
Another much-discussed production this season, presented by the Lincoln Center Theater, earnestly tried to split the difference between opera and musical theater: “A Minister’s Wife,” with a book by Austin Pendleton, music by Joshua Schmidt and lyrics by Jan Levy Tranen. read more