-->''It's an epic saga of rebellion and romance.''\\
-- ''[[ComingAttractions Trailer]] for ''StarWars: ANewHope'''''

A [[InSpace space]] {{opera}} is a work set in space, often on a spaceship or a station. It has an epic character to it: The universe is big, there are lots of sprawling civilizations and empires, there are political conflicts and intrigues galore. Frequently it takes place in the StandardSciFiSetting.

Space opera has a lot of romantic elements: big love stories, epic space battles, oversized heroes and villains. What it rarely has is serious consideration of how technology and science would change society, with the space opera setting working just like present day ([[DaysOfFuturePast or past]]) society. (Which may be [[FeudalFuture an excuse]] to deploy MedievalEuropeanFantasy tropes.)

Note that is is quite different from the first definition of space opera, which was a derogatory term. It was a variant in a long line of terms for substandard genre fiction: 'horse opera' was bad [[TheWildWest Western]] fiction, whereas a 'soap opera' (so named because they began as hour-long ads for soap) was a hackneyed drama. The phrase was coined in 1941 by Wilson Tucker to describe what he called "the hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn space-ship yarn". Weirdly, this means that today many works which were originally touted as examples of 'serious' science fiction, such as the {{Lensman}} series, are today held up as prime examples of SpaceOpera. As more authors and writers came to embrace the space opera style, the term has largely lost its negative connotations. Assisted by writers who regarded all tales of action and adventure in space as bad, and so tried to label it all "space opera" in pejorative sense; they succeeded with the label, but not with keeping it pejorative.

''StarWars'' is probably the most famous modern example of space opera. In ''Star Wars'', technology is either [[MagicFromTechnology magic]] (the Force) or slightly faster versions of today's gadgets ([[FrickinLaserBeams blaster rifles]], hovercars, space ships) and the characters would be right at home in a fantasy novel (evil emperor, farmboy, princess).

''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' had a subtle LampshadeHanging on this. In one scene, the characters go to an opera performed by the aquatic Mon Calamari - a literal space opera. (Despite it looking very pretty, it was [[FanNickname nicknamed "squid lake"]].)

The genre is useful for long story- and character-[[StoryArc arcs]] but also expensive to film. Unless you do it in animated form, like dozens of {{anime}} series.

The opposite of Space Opera would probably be [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness Hard Science Fiction]], where the characters are generally more "normal" (i.e., more working class [[SlobsVersusSnobs slobs]], [[ScienceHero pragmatic engineers]], and imperfect {{AntiHero}}es than [[TheAce Aces]] and [[TheCape Capes]]) and with technology that is either conceptually similar to plausible real-world near-term technology, or at least [[MagicAIsMagicA internally]] [[MinovskyParticle consistent]]. In recent years, however, the trend has been towards incorporating hard sci-fi elements ''into'' space opera, as in ''StarshipOperators'' or the 2000s ''BattlestarGalactica''.

Note that while many more famous space operas go to the "ideal" side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, more recent ones are [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness harder]] and more "realist" (i.e., cynical): ''{{Babylon 5}}'', ''BattlestarGalactica'' and ''{{Firefly}}'' being most prominent in LiveActionTV. In ScienceFiction literature, where there are less restraint due to budget, a growing subgenre of this sort of thing has been dubbed New Space Opera, starring authors such as AlastairReynolds and Peter F. Hamilton.

Space Opera is actually a [[CargoCult component]] of the religion of [[ChurchOfHappyology Scientology]], under that exact name.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* The ''{{Gundam}}'' franchise
* The ''{{Macross}}'' franchise
* ''{{Legend of the Galactic Heroes}}'', a Space Opera on a scale like no other.
* ''SoukouNoStrain''
* ''CowboyBebop''
* ''OutlawStar''
* ''AngelLinks''
* ''HeroicAge''
* ''SpaceBattleshipYamato''
* ''{{Voltron}}'' (the vehicle one)
* ''ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman''
* ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', particularly the [[NonIndicativeFirstEpisode Non Indicative First Minute]], but also later on.
* ''{{Stellvia of the Universe}}''
* The works of LeijiMatsumoto.
* ''{{Tytania}}'', the closest thing to an anime {{Dune}}''
* ''GlassFleet''
* ''CrestOfTheStars''
* ''{{Vandread}}''
* ''StarshipOperators'', hardest space opera anime bar none.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''{{Valerian}}''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Fiction ]]

* ''FanFic/UndocumentedFeatures''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''StarWars'', as mentioned in the main text.
* ''TheChroniclesOfRiddick''
* ''Battle Beyond The Stars''
* Most of the ''StarTrek'' films
* ''TheFifthElement'', a SpaceOpera with [[AtTheOperaTonight an opera in space!]]
* ''TheLastStarfighter''
* ''Barbarella''
* ''TheIcePirates''
* ''{{Spaceballs}}'' (although technically, it's a ''parody'' of space operas...)
* ''Starchaser: The Legend Of Orin''
* ''{{Alien}}'' (which also utilizes the genre of SF horror)
* ''{{Titan AE}}''
* ''Queen of Outer Space''
* ''The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy''
* ''FlashGordon''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The {{Lensman}} series by Edward E. "Doc" Smith is generally given as the defining example, along with its predecessor and spiritual twin the ''Skylark of Space''.
* ''BuckRogers'', another early and influential example.
* ''Perry Rhodan'' series (over more than 2500 books that span from 1971 to 5050).
* ''Hyperion'', Dan Simmons
* LoisMcMasterBujold's Vorkosigan saga
* AlastairReynolds's ''Revelation Space'' series actually ''does'' consider seriously how changes in technology would affect culture, even language.
* The ''Culture'' books by Iain M Banks, although again it does have a society changed by technology - in particular near-perfect medicine and a lack of the need for money due to massive technological advances.
* LarryNiven's Known Space universe.
* The ''Rowan'' series by Anne [=McCaffrey=].
* Most of Peter F. Hamilton's books, though technological advances have significant societal and cultural impacts.
* TheSagaOfSevenSuns
* And of course, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's opus ''BattlefieldEarth''.
* ''{{Foundation}}'', by IsaacAsimov, an early example inspired in part by Gibbon's ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' and which in turn partly inspired ''StarWars''.
* DavidWeber has an extensive one in the HonorHarrington setting.
* Walter Jon Williams trilogy DreadEmpiresFall is space opera on the fairly hard science side.
* AlanDeanFoster's ''HumanxCommonwealth'' series. It adopts many SpeculativeFiction tropes but plays them for SpaceOpera themes.
* Stephen R. Donaldson's ''The Gap'' series is ''literally'' this, as it's RichardWagner's ''Ring Cycle'' InSpace. Newer editions of the first volume have a cool author's note explaining how the dramatic elements (and thus, tropes) of {{Opera}} work in a sci-fi setting.
* VernorVinge's ''Zones of Thought'' series.
* DavidBrin's ''{{Uplift}}.''
* C.J. Cherryh's enormous AllianceUnion universe.
* Parodied and lampshaded in JackVance's ''Space Opera'', which is a space opera about - yes - a touring {{Opera}} company.
* Also Parodied by Harry harrison in his ''Bill, the Galactic Hero'' and ''Star Smashers of the galaxy Rangers''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''StarTrek'' (all series). Though there ''is'' serious consideration of how technology and science would change society.
* ''{{Farscape}}''
* ''BattlestarGalactica'' (both versions) but at opposite ends of the SlidingScaleOf IdealismAndCynicism
* ''{{Andromeda}}''
* ''{{Firefly}}''
** Which has the unusual distinction of being both a SpaceOpera [[SpaceWestern AND a]] [[TheWestern Horse Opera]]!
* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]''
* The StargateVerse, even though that barely escapes fitting the definition; the Earthly or Atlantean base with a Stargate connection functions exactly like a spaceship for most story purposes.
** Given the amount of planet-hopping they do, it's more of a PlanetaryRomance.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is a Space Opera setting, although it's about as cynical, grim and dark as you can ''get''. Actually, it's that, turned UpToEleven.
* ''{{Battletech}}''. The RPG, as distinguished from the series below.
* ''{{Traveller}}'' was pretty much the first RPG set in the Space Opera genre, and set the standard for those that followed.
* ''{{Fading Suns}}''
* There was an entire RPG '''named''' ''Space Opera''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''{{Halo}}''
* ''MassEffect'', a space opera RPG. The writers actually put quite a bit of consideration into how the futuristic technology in it works, though (although, admittedly, writers have done this in a lot of other series classified 'space opera', such as the aforementioned ''Halo'')
* ''StarControl''
* Many a science fiction TBSG (turn based strategy game) - most prominently ''MasterOfOrionII''
* ''WingCommander''
* ''StarFox'' mixes FunnyAnimal with SpaceOpera.
* ''EveOnline''
* ''{{Starcraft}}''
* ''{{Metroid}}''
* ''TotalAnnihilation''
* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}: DawnOfWar''
* ''{{Marathon}}''
* GalaxyAngelGameverse

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* ''SchlockMercenary''
* ''Terinu''
* ''LegostarGalactica'', which is essentially a satire of SpaceOpera.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers''
* ''{{Exosquad}}''
* ''{{Battletech}}''
* ''{{Wing Commander}}''
* ''Roughnecks: StarshipTroopers Chronicles''
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