OPERA, n. A play representing life in another world, whose inhabitants… — The Devil's Dictionary
SAPIR 861
OPERA, n. A play representing life in another world, whose inhabitants have no speech but song, no motions but gestures and no postures but attitudes. All acting is simulation, and the word _simulation_ is from _simia_, an ape; but in opera the actor takes for his model _Simia audibilis_ (or _Pithecanthropos stentor_)--the ape that howls.
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