horse opera

But also, because of the actor’s reliability, a figure that still felt rooted in the history of the horse opera.

Alas, “Tumacho,” a horse opera featuring a chorus of cactuses, was the last we heard from the company.

“I met him on one of them horse opera TV deals. I was fascinated with what he was able to do as an actor. I’d never see anything like it.”

Mr. Maxwell crossed similar terrain in 2007 in his deadpan riff on the horse opera, “Ode to the Man Who Kneels.”

While the novel flouts most of the conventions of the traditional horse opera, the rewards of "Haints Stay" belong to the reader.