MELODRAMAS
Noun
melodramas
plural of melodrama
Source: Wiktionary
MELODRAMA
Mel`o*dra"ma, n. Etym: [F. mélodrame, fr. Gr.
Definition: Formerly, a kind of drama having a musical accompaniment to
intensify the effect of certain scenes. Now, a drama abounding in
romantic sentiment and agonizing situations, with a musical
accompaniment only in parts which are especially thrilling or
pathetic. In opera, a passage in which the orchestra plays a somewhat
descriptive accompaniment, while the actor speaks; as, the melodrama
in the gravedigging scene of Beethoven's "Fidelio".
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition