Opéra féerie

Opéra féerie (plural, opéras féeries) is a French genre of opera or opéra-ballet based on fairy tales, often with elements of magic in their stories. Popular in the 18th century, from the time of Jean-Philippe Rameau onwards, the form reached its culmination with works such as La belle au bois dormant by Michele Carafa and Cendrillon by Nicolas Isouard at the beginning of the 19th century.

The distantly related English genre of "fairy opera" includes Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe. Earlier in the 19th century, James Planché had popularised the "fairy comedy".

The German genre of Märchenoper (fairy-tale opera), though similar in subject matter, has its roots in Italian opera.