Vaudeville
(French vaux de vire or voix de ville)

• In late 16th c., song with amorous words as sung in the valleys (vaux) near Vire or catches sung in the streets of towns.
• In 18th cent, the term came to mean a song with different verses sung in turn by different singers, and this meaning was incorporated into operatic terminology, e.g. a `vaudeville finale', as in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail
• In 19th cent. meant short comedies interspersed with popular songs, as in French revues
• In late 19th and 20th centuries, a synonym for a variety show or music-hall, particularly in the United States
  Back