Word of the day: opera seria

The word of the day is opera seria:

1. Italian dramatic opera of the 18th century based typically on a classical subject and characterized by extensive use of the aria da capo and recitative.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/opera+seria)

"Written in dialogue verse, an opera seria exchange of long recitatives, his reconstruction does not individually identify  the speakers—perhaps, some historians believe, because the great meeting did not actually take place, Sahagún's account being a distillation of many smaller encounters."

 - Charles Mann, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Colunbus