Vaudeville

A corruption of ‘Vau de Vire’ (the vale of Vire in Calvados, famous for its satirical songs), the word Vaudeville is now applied to a form of light entertainment interspersed with songs. In this Vienna performance, with its programme in French (the cultural language of Europe at the time), two vaudeville acts are combined with an act from a comic opera.

Letterpress, 1826