The Structure

Operetta, much like modern day musical theatre, was a combination of spoken dialogue and sung music. It descended from classic opera, and as each major European country had their own form of opera, so too they had their own form of operetta. The major forms found their way to America. Though each form has major differences when compared with another, some generalities can be made. Operettas were considerably lighter than their traditional counterparts, both in terms of music and story. They took melodiousness from operas, but left behind the heavy plots and melodrama, unless, of course, they were satirizing opera, which did happen. (Hanák, 210.) Dance was heavily involved in French operetta—with the involvement of the Can-can—and, later, in Viennese operetta—the waltz. (Dizikes, 192; Knapp 22.) Gilbert and Sullivan, representing English operetta, brought wit, farcical fun, patter songs, and, importantly, an English performance. (Dizikes, 206.)

Plots of operettas often revolved around a love affair or tryst. (Dizikes, 211.) Often set in far away, exotic lands, they gave American audiences a chance to escape from their day-to-day lives. While the earlier French operetta was often very satirical and overtly sexual, the later operettas enjoyed happy endings and cleaner shows. (Dizikes, 193.) Operetta wasn’t complete fluff, however. “Gentle political and/or social satire” was often involved in the plots, “exposing the hypocrisy of the audience and that of the ruling classes.” (Hanák, 209.)

Operetta might have had lighter music than traditional opera, but they did not cut back on production value. The genre called for lavish costumes, opulent sets, and beautiful choreography. As technology advanced, effects like lighting added realism, which became in demand by the turn of the century. (Kirk, 102-103; Hanák, 210; Dizikes, 209.) Some important titles of operetta include the Grand Duchess of Gérolstein (Jacques Offenbach’s first operetta in the United States,) HMS Pinafore (Gilbert and Sullivan’s first,) the Merry Widow (Franz Lehár’s,) and Naughty Marietta (the first big hit of an American composer, Victor Herbert.)

 

Performers

The formula for (almost) every operetta cast starts with a romantic pair consisting of a coloratura soprano and a tenor, supported by an older baritone and a male chorus.  (Maslon.) Often, these singers were trained, and while the listening standards of operetta were not as high as traditional opera, the music could be very demanding on the sopranos. Before they went to great lengths to avoid it, Gilbert and Sullivan were often the victims of piracy, with unauthorized performances popping up all over America. At that time, American copyright only applied to works originally published in the United States, meaning that foreign creators had no protection from pirates. With so many copies, they decided to premier Pirates of Penzance in the United States to get that protection. (Dizikes, 203.) It became clear, though, that American troupes did not know how to replicate Gilbert and Sullivan, who trained each of their troupes, including touring troupes, to master “consistent stylization” to be able to remake the English representation. (Dizikes, 205.)

Gilbert and Sullivan were not the only ones at the hands of piracy. It happened with the early French operettas and continued with the Viennese operettas. One operetta company had barely finished putting on a performance before there were “a dozen” other companies who “immediately imitated it.” (Dizikes, 193.)

 

The Audience

Unlike opera, which appealed only to the uppercrust of society, operetta appealed to the upper and middle classes equally, but even more so to those of the poorer class. (Hanák, 210.) Most operas and French operettas were performed in other languages, so Gilbert and Sullivan really appealed to those wanting to be entertained in their primary language; this also opened up doors for the poorer, less educated people.

In later years, there came to be two types of audience members, those who took operetta and its “absurdities seriously” and simply “relished…[the] beautiful virtuoso singing in the grand manner,” and those who enjoyed the absurdities for what they were: campy, melodramatic, overelaborate, yet still with virtuosic singing. (Knapp, 32.)

 

The Era

The era of operetta really starts in the late 1860s with the premiere of Jacques Offenbach’s the Grand Duchess of Gérolstein in 1867. (Dizikes, 193.) Unauthorized versions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore began appearing in the United States after its premiere in England in 1878, taking over American operetta from the French. (Dizikes, 203.) Viennese operetta became wildly popular following the premiere of The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár in 1907. Much of its success came from its integration of dance and music to further the plot while still enjoying the romantic themes of operetta. (Mortimer, 21.)

With the United State’s entrance into World War I, Viennese operetta lost favor with the American public, and US composers like Rudolph Friml and Sigmund Romberg essentially started renaming operettas to fit with the public’s wants. (Wells; Knapp, 18.) As the war continued, anti-German sentiment only increased. No longer did US theatres simply want to stop producing Viennese operetta—music by classic German/Austrian composers such as Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart became blacklisted, as well. (War hysteria.) By the time the war—and the anti-German hysteria—was over, Friml and Romberg had their feet securely in the door of American operetta. With the collaboration of a young man by the name of Oscar Hammerstein II, operettas’ plots started becoming more poignant and sophisticated. (Maslon.) Operetta, with its opulence, fell out of favor during the Great Depression, but its effects were lasting. (Maslon.)

 

The Takeaway

Operetta started the breakaway from opera, with its plots totally undermined by the arias. Slowly, operettas started to integrate their music and dancing into the plot, creating a more unified performance. The satire that was used served as a sort of subtle platform to point out social issues and hypocrisy, a very common and obvious trend in modern musical theatre.

Gilbert’s and Sullivan’s work had huge impact on later musical theatre. Their satirical, always happy endings became a staple of “smash-hit musicals,” said Stephen Sondheim. (Bargainnier, 449.) The style of music became important, as well. Hart talked about his love for Gilbert’s wordplay, including his “trick” rhymes, “incongruous juxtapositions in love songs,” and the list song. Many other composers, for instance Hammerstein II, also professed their inspiration from and admiration of Gilbert. Porter was not one who said it out loud, but his work shows obvious influence, such as his use of strange and funny rhymes, patter songs, and “satiric contemporaneity.” At the same time, “many of Porter’s love songs underplay of invert usual sentiments in the same manner as Gilbert’s.” (Bargainnier, 452.)

Romberg’s influence comes in the way of nostalgic waltzes, seen in Sondheim’s music in A Little Night Music and Follies and in Hammerstein II’s lyrics in several shows. The waltz makes you long to go back to a place you cannot go any longer or to a happy time in your life. (Everett, 292.) His other major influences are his duple-meter love song, a staple of modern musical theatre, male choruses, found in Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, and more, his “songs of social justice,” and happy endings. (Everett, 294-296.)

The America of the time when operetta thrived was one that wanted to go to the theatre and have fun. Whether it was looking at scantily clad French girls or laughing at Gilbert’s tongue-tying lyrics, Americans did not want to take themselves seriously like their cousins across the pond. The love of opulent sets and costumes indicates a love of looking at beautiful things, still common today. Operetta is still performed today, though not to the extent that more traditional opera is. It is perhaps overly campy to some audiences, but those who enjoy operetta truly enjoy it.