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Grand Opera is a style of opera characterized by grandiose scale. Heroic and historical subjects, large casts, vast orchestras, richly detailed sets, sumptuous costumes and spectacular scenic effects were all features of this genre, especially when the operas were first produced. However, some recent revivals have unfortunately featured excessive short cuts in an effort to minimize costs. Other characteristics include continuous music (recitative instead of spoken dialogue), a four or five-act structure and the prevalence of ballets and large scale processions. While there were a number of earlier operas which exhibited many of the traits of grand opera, these are essentially precursors of what we now regard as grand opera. True grand operas are generally regarded as originating in Paris during the late 1820s with Auber's La muette de Portici. The format quickly travelled to near-by countries, especially Germany, Austria, and Italy. But it fell into disfavor towards the end of the 19th century, as the expense of staging these mammoth works and the problems in finding singers capable of executing them caused newer styles to gain in popularity. There also was a great deal of opposition to them in Paris on the part of avant-garde intellectuals such as Claude Debussy who were embarrassed by what they saw as the excesses of grand opera. Nevertheless, grand opera did not die out, many composers continued to write these works, and the style continued to be influential.