Operetta

Operetta (literally, "little opera") is a performance art-form similar to opera, though it generally deals with less serious topics. Often some of the libretto is spoken rather than sung (but this is true of some operas as well). Instead of moving from one musical number (literally so indicated in the scores) to another, the performers in operetta intersperse the musical segments (e. g. aria, recitative, chorus) with periods of dialogue without any singing or musical accompaniment. When music accompanies spoken dialogue for special effect, the result is technically melodrama.

Related Topics:
Opera - Libretto - Aria - Recitative - Chorus - Dialogue - Melodrama

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Operetta is often considered less "serious" than opera, although this has more to do with the generally comic plots than with the caliber of the music.

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Operetta is the precursor of the modern musical comedy. There is a fundamental but subtle distinction between the two forms. An operetta is more of a light opera with acting, whereas a musical is a play with singing. This can best be seen in the performers chosen in the two forms. An operetta's cast will normally be classically trained opera singers; indeed, there is essentially no difference between the scores for an opera and an operetta, except for the operetta's lightness. A musical uses actors who sing, but usually not in an operatic style. Having said that, W.S. Gilbert always preferred to use actors who could sing for his productions, rather than singers who could act, so it isn't an unbreakable distinction. Yet Ezio Pinza, a great Don Giovanni, scored on Broadway in South Pacific, and there are features of operetta vocal style both in Kern's Show Boat (1927) as well as in Walt Disney's animated Snow White (1937).

Related Topics:
Musical comedy - Light opera - Ezio Pinza - Don Giovanni - South Pacific - Show Boat - Snow White

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Operetta grew out of the French opéra comique around the middle of the 19th century, to satisfy a need for short, light works in contrast to the full-length entertainment of the increasingly serious opéra comique. By this time the "comique" part of the genre name had become misleading: Carmen (1875) is an example of an opéra comique with a tragic plot. Opéra comique had dominated the French operatic stage since the decline of tragédie lyrique.

Related Topics:
Opéra comique - Carmen - Tragédie lyrique

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Jacques Offenbach is usually credited with having written the first operettas, such as his La Belle Hélène (1864).

Related Topics:
Jacques Offenbach - La Belle Hélène

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