Wilson Pereira wrote:

>I was surprised by what follows:  "One thinks of Ernani as an
>'oom-pah-pah' opera".  Oom-pah-pah opera? Does anyone on the list
>know what he was talking about??

A sort of onomatopoeic description of background music consisting of
a relentless ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three rhythm, unencumbered w/ any
imaginative embellishment and often associated w/ carnivals and possibly
also w/ music played by organ grinders many of whom were believed to be
ethnic compatriots of Verdi.

Walter Meyer