The word ‘operetta’ means ‘little opera’. Like operas, operettas are musical dramas for the theatre that feature characters who sing. But operetta music is much less complicated than opera, and usually appeals to less serious audiences. The light, catchy tunes of operettas are linked by spoken dialogue, while the plots are frequently romantic, with a good deal of comedy.

Operetta is often looked down upon as second best to real opera. But this is unfair. Numerous operetta composers had been as skilled as some of probably the most famous writers of opera. It’s frequently just a matter of personal opinion whether to describe particular functions as ‘opera’, ‘operetta’, or even ‘musical comedy’.

The rise of operetta

The great era operettas began in Paris in around 1840, and were dominated by the composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-80). His greatest stage work, Orpheus within the Underworld (1858), was a sharp satire on old-fashioned attitudes. The people of Paris had been both shocked and delighted by Offenbach’s daring humour. His lively style of music, with its memorable melodies, became particularly popular in Austria’s capital, Vienna. There, a well-known composer of dance music, Johann Strauss (1825-99), started to write for the theatre. The result was arguably the greatest operetta of all time, Die Fledermaus (The Bat, 1874).

Strauss’ music was more sentimental and elegant than Offenbach’s, and he was less concerned with satire. He also included dance numbers, for example waltzes and polkas, in his works. These were tailor-made to become well-liked hits. Strauss’ operettas epitomize the carefree, romantic mood of late 19th-century Vienna. They started a fashion for charming, melodious stage musicals in the Austrian capital that was taken further by composers of the next generation.

The most accomplished of these was the Hungarian-born Franz Lehar (1870-1948). Lehar’s The Merry Widow (1905) in many methods represents the climax of operetta. It’s a charming love story, spiced with satire and mischief, set in a world of wealth and glamour.