Musical Forms
Operetta
Term used in the 17th and 18th centuries for a variety of stage works shorter or
less ambitious than opera, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for a
light opera with spoken dialogue and dances. This type evolved in the 1850s from
the French op�ra comique, the style being set by Offenbach in works such
as Orph�e aux enfers (1858) and La belle H�l�ne (1864). Offenbach
was followed in France by Lecocq, Planquette, Messager and others, and his
success abroad brought into being other national schools of operetta. In Vienna,
where Supp�'s one-act operettas were popular, Offenbach's monopoly of
large-scale productions was unchallenged until 1871, when Johann Strauss's
Indigo und die vierzig Rauber established the individual style of
Viennese operetta, with more exotic settings and scores built around dance
forms, particularly the waltz. His Die Fledermaus (1874) and Leh�r's
Die lustige Witwe (1905) are the most celebrated examples of the rich
Viennese operetta tradition.
In England the influence of French and Viennese operetta eventually bore
fruit in the comic operas of Sullivan, and towards the end of the 19th century
American examples by Sousa and others began to appear, to be superseded in the
1920s by the Musical Comedy.
This project was created by Ahmed Azab.
Since �2001
