Notably André-Guillaume Contant d'Orville (Histoire de l'opéra bouffon, Amsterdam, 1768, Vol. I and Vol. II) used the term as a synonym for opéra comique (Bartlet 2001).
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Both operas by Pergolesi were originally styled a commedia per musica by their own librettos (to be precise, commeddeja pe mmuseca in Neapolitan as regards the former): cf Lo frate ’nnamorato, 1732 and Il Flaminio, 1735.
Both operas by Pergolesi were originally styled a commedia per musica by their own librettos (to be precise, commeddeja pe mmuseca in Neapolitan as regards the former): cf Lo frate ’nnamorato, 1732 and Il Flaminio, 1735.