ETYM Italian, dim. of opera.
A short amusing opera; SYN. light opera.
Light form of opera, with music, dance, and spoken dialogue. The story line is romantic and sentimental, often employing farce and parody. Its origins lie in the 19th-century opéra comique and is intended to amuse. Examples of operetta are Jacques Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers/Orpheus in the Underworld 1858, Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus/The Flittermouse 1874, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance 1879 and The Mikado 1885. + prikaži više