A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Opéra Comique
OPÉRA COMIQUE. A French Opera, in which the dénouement is happy, and the Dialogue spoken. Provided these two conditions be present, it is not at all necessary that the piece should introduce any really comic Scenes, or Characters; for instance, one of the finest Opéras comiques in existence is Cherubini's 'Les deux journées,' in which the hero is only saved from what appears to be almost certain destruction by the devotion of an humble friend. [See Opera, 16th Period, vol. ii. p. 522; also Comic Opera.]
[ W. S. R. ]