found: Harvard dictionary of music, 4th ed.:(Pantomime. In the 19th century, the term pantomime also referred to a comic entertainment, popular in England, France, and the Hapsburg empire. ... these entertainments might contain songs, dances, instrumental pieces, and spectacular stage effects as well as scends in dumbshow. In present-day England, the pantomime, based on a traditional story or a fairy tale, is a popular form of Christmas entertainment)
found: Grove music online, viewed August 27, 2014(Pantomime. A musical-dramatic genre, taking different forms in different periods and places. The Latin pantomimus originally referred to a Roman actor who specialized in dumb show, supported by instrumental music and a chorus; by extension the word denotes a dramatic representation in dumb show. Normal modern English usage is confined to a theatrical entertainment, usually presented in the Christmas season, which, whilst no longer in dumb show, continues to use music and other spectacular elements to support a children's tale that is often no more than a flimsy backcloth for buffoonery, dancing, topical songs and allusions and, until comparatively recent times, a harlequinade.)
