*music drama*

. An opera in which the text and action are not interrupted by set arias, duets, etc., the music being determined throughout by dramatic appropriateness; musical drama of this character, in general. It involves the use of a kind of melodious declamation, the development of leitmotif, great orchestral elaboration, and a fusion of poetry, music, action, and scene into an organic whole. The term is applied esp. to the later works of Wagner: “Tristan und Isolde, ” “Die Meistersinger, ” “Rheingold, ” “Walküre, ” “Siegfried, ” “Götterdämmerung, ” and “Parsifal.” [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]