Difference between revisions of "Operetta" - New World Encyclopedia

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Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is closely related both to opera and also to other forms of lighter musical theatre, and in many cases, it is difficult to assign a musical theatre work to a particular genre.

Overview

Normally, in an operetta, some of the libretto is spoken rather than sung. Instead of moving from one musical number (literally so indicated in the scores) to another, the singers intersperse the musical segments with periods of dialogue, minus any singing or musical accompaniment (though sometimes musical themes are played quietly under the dialogue)—and short passages of recitative are by no means unknown in operetta, especially as an introduction to a song.

Operettas are often considered less "serious" than operas, although this has more to do with the often comic (or even farcical) plots than with the caliber of the music. Topical satire is a feature common to many operettas, although this is also true of some "serious" operas as well. Formerly, opera expressed politics in code in some countries, such as France; for example, the circumstances of the title character in the opera Robert le diable was a code for the parental conflict and resolution of king of France at its first performance.

Operetta is a precursor of the modern musical comedy. At the same time, it has continued to exist alongside the newer form—with each influencing the other. There is a fundamental but subtle distinction between the two forms—and this distinction is quite useful, provided one recognizes that nothing about the definition is clear, simple, or unambiguous.

Most operettas can be described as light operas with acting, whereas most musicals are closer to being plays 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. Like most "differential definitions" that could be drawn between the two forms, however, this distinction is quite often blurred. W.S. Gilbert, for example, said that he preferred to use actors who could sing for his productions, while Ezio Pinza, a great Don Giovanni, appeared on Broadway in South Pacific, and there are features of operetta vocal style in Kern's Show Boat (1927), Bernstein's Candide, and Walt Disney's animated Snow White (1937) among others.

History

Operetta grew out of the French opéra comique around the middle of the nineteenth 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.

Though Jacques Offenbach is usually credited with having written the first operettas, such as his La belle Hélène (1864), Ernest Newman remarked that the credit should really go to one Hervé, a singer, composer, librettist, conductor, and scene painter, whose real name was Florimond Ronger (1825-1892). "But it was Offenbach who took up the genre and gave it its enormous vogue during the Second Empire and afterwards."^[1] Robert Planquette, André Messager, and others carried on this tradition.

The most significant composer of operetta in the German language was the Austrian Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899). His first work in this genre was Indigo und die vierzig Räuber (1871). It was his third operetta, Die Fledermaus (1874), which became the most performed operetta in the world and remained his most popular stage work. Its libretto was based on a comedy written by Offenbach's librettists. In fact, Strauss may have been convinced to write the operetta by Offenbach himself although it is now suggested that it may have been his first wife, Henrietta Treffz who repeatedly encouraged Strauss to try his hand at writing for the theater. In all, he wrote 16 operettas and one opera in his lifetime, mostly with great success when first premiered although they are now largely forgotten, since his later librettists were not very talented and he worked for some of the time independent of the plot. His operettas, waltzes, polkas, and marches often have a strongly Viennese style and his great popularity has caused many to think of him as the national composer of Austria. In fact, when his stage works were first performed, the Theater an der Wien never failed to draw huge crowds, and after many of the numbers the audience would noisily call for encores.

Franz von Suppé, a contemporary of Strauss, closely modeled his operettas after Offenbach. The Viennese tradition was carried on by Franz Lehár, Oscar Straus, Carl Zeller, Karl Millöcker, Leo Fall, Richard Heuberger, Edmund Eysler, Ralph Benatzky, Robert Stolz, Emmerich Kálmán, Nico Dostal, and Sigmund Romberg in the twentieth century.

The height of English-language operetta (at the time known in England as comic opera to distinguish it from French or German operetta) was reached by Gilbert and Sullivan, who had a long-running collaboration in England during the Victorian era. With W.S. Gilbert writing the libretto and Sir Arthur Sullivan composing the music, the pair produced 14 "comic operas" together, most of which were enormously popular in both Britain and elsewhere, especially the U.S., and remain popular to this day. Works such as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado continue to enjoy regular performances and even some film adaptations. These comic operas influenced the later American operettas, such as those by Victor Herbert, and musical comedy.

English operetta continued into the twentieth century, with works by composers such as Edward German, Lionel Monckton, and Harold Fraser-Simson—but increasingly these took on features of musical comedy until the distinction between an "old fashioned musical" and a "modern operetta" became very blurred indeed. Old fashioned British musicals, in particular, retained an "operetta-ish" flavor well into the 1950s. More modern operettas include Candide and, some would claim, musicals like Brigadoon.

A late twentieth century renewal of the importance of recitative and through composing in some modern musicals, in fact, brings some such works closer (in some ways) to traditional opera than to operetta.

Examples

La Fille du Tambour-Major

La Fille du Tambour-Major (The Drum Major's Daughter) is an operetta in three acts by Henri Chivot and Afred Dudu. It premiered in Paris on December 13, 1879, at the Theatre des Folies-Dramatiques.^[2]

The operetta takes place in 1806 Lombardy. Act One takes place in a deserted Italian convent, where a company of French soldiers have crossed the Alps to rendezvous with the army of the First Consul. The French soldiers are led by Lieutenant Robert. The nuns of the convent have all left, fearing occupation, leaving only a young woman who was there for penitence. This woman, Stella, daughter of the Duke and Duchess della Volta, quickly gets Lt. Robert to fall in love with her.

In Act Two, which takes place in a room at the chateau of Duke della Volta, reveals that the Duchess della Volta is the divorced wife of Drum Major Monthabor (a member of Robert's company), and Stella is their daughter. Stella signs up as a rebel in her Father's company with great enthusiasm.^[2]

Act Three is divided into two scenes, the first at a hotel and the second on a street in Milan. The Austrian police seize Stella, whose parents want to marry Marquis Bambini. In scene two, Napoleon's victory in the war changes everything. French troops arrive in Milan and liberate its inhabitants from Austria. Stella, then, is free to marry Lt. Robert.

Notes

↑ Ernest Newman, in Louis Biacolli, ed. The Opera Reader (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1953), 317.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Guide to Light Opera & Operetta, La Fille du Tambour-Major. Retrieved July 28, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Bordman, Gerald. American Operetta. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Ganzl, Kurt. The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre. New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.
Traubner, Richard. Operetta: A Theatrical History. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1983

External links

All links retrieved July 21, 2008.

Extensive site with information about operettas, light operas and their composers
Essay on operettas of Offenbach, Johann Strauss Jr. and their contemporaries
http://www.operetta-research-center.org (with a large archive of historical reviews)

Credits

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[1] Ernest Newman, in Louis Biacolli, ed. The Opera Reader (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1953), 317.

[guide-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Guide to Light Opera & Operetta, La Fille du Tambour-Major. Retrieved July 28, 2008.

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@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
-===A NIGHT IN VENICE===
-By Johann Strauss
-ACT I
-It is an evening in eighteenth-century Venice. In a square on the Grand Canal, with a view across to the Ducal Palace and the Isle of San Giorgio, the people are are strolling around as the sun goes down while the tradeswomen call their wares. The young Neapolitan macaroni cook Pappacoda pipes up with the observation that, for all the splendours of Venice, they do not have everything without their macaroni cook. "Macaroni as long as the Grand Canal, with as much cheese as there is sand in the Lido" - that is what Pappacoda offers. The young man is approached by Enrico, a naval officer, enquiring whether the Senator Delacqua is at home. When he is told that he is at a sitting of the Senate, Enrico sees it as an opportunity for a few private minutes with the Senator's young wife Barbara. However, she too is out, so Enrico slips Pappacoda a coin to give Barbara a letter, with the message that Enrico will be ready for her at nine o'clock that evening.
-As the people watch, a boat arrives carrying Annina, a fisher-girl, calling her wares. Pappacoda greets her, hinting that what has really brought her hither is the imminent arrival of the Duke of Urbino, and more particularly his barber Caramello, Annina's sweetheart. 'Caramello is a monster, a ne'er-do-well, and a conceited blockhead into the bargain,' she pouts. 'Stupidity is no hindrance to love,' Pappacoda retorts, sampling an oyster. "After all, I'm passionately in love with Ciboletta, Signora Delacqua's pretty cook - a girl as stupid as this oyster, and yet just as appetising, just as worthy of catching!'
-When Barbara Delacqua returns home, Pappacoda gives her the message from Enrico and receives another tip for his troubles. Annina departs with Barbara, leaving Pappacoda to greet his own girlfriend, Ciboletta. She is wondering when they are going to get married, and he promises that they will do so just as soon as he gets a position in service.
-The senators return from a stormy session, discussing the banquet that the Duke of Urbino is to give today when he arrives for his annual Carnival-time visit to Venice. The Duke is a notorious womaniser and has already cast his roving eye on Barbara, so Delacqua has taken the precaution of arranging for his wife to be taken by gondola to Murano to stay with an old abbess aunt in the convent there.
-The Duke's arrival is signalled by the appearance of a gondola carrying his personal barber, Caramello, who is warmly greeted by the crowd. He proceeds to show off his close acquaintance with the Duke and rounds things off with an agile tarantella for good measure. He quickly spots Annina, but she is not too pleased that he has practically ignored her for the past year. She becomes interested enough when the subject of their talk turns to marriage, but Caramello explains that he is anxious to obtain the position as the Duke's steward before committing himself to matrimony.
-In pursuit of amorous adventures on his master's behalf Caramello has learned with interest from Pappacoda that a gondolier is due to take Barbara Delacqua to Murano at 9 p.m. What he does not know is that his own girlfriend, Annina, has been persuaded by Barbara to take her place in the gondola, so that Barbara may spend her time with Enrico Piselli. Annina is determined to be back within the hour so that she may join in the Carnival dancing with Caramello, Pappacoda and Ciboletta in masks borrowed from their masters.
-The Duke arrives and greets Venice and its people. He loves them all, he tells them, though it is noticed that he seems to love the pretty girls rather more than the rest. To the Duke's great delight, Caramello reveals to him his plan to take the place of the gondolier in the gondola calling for Barbara. Instead of taking her to Murano, he will then deliver her to the Duke's palace. Pulling on a gondolier's cloak and hood, he sets off on his adventure.
-The scene is set and the evening still, as the Duke looks up to Delacqua's balcony and sings a serenade. Inside the Delacqua house Barbara and Annina are making their final preparations, putting on the dominoes that will disguise them, as they await the sound of the gondolier's song that is to be the agreed signal. Down below Ciboletta brings Pappacoda a carnival costume.
-Finally the voice of Caramello is heard from the gondola singing the gondolier's song. Delacqua helps into the gondola the masked figure he believes to be his wife and he bids her farewell as the Duke looks on with keen anticipation. A group of sailors appear and, with Enrico at their head, they sing a serenade to Delacqua for his birthday the following day. While Delacqua is on the balcony thanking the singers, Barbara slips out below to join Enrico. The birthday serenade merges with the sound of Caramello's gondola song as night falls on Venice and the disguised Caramello glides away with his masked sweetheart Annina, neither knowing the true identity of the other.
-ACT 2
-Watching from a room in his palace, the Duke is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the gondola in which Caramello is due to bring Barbara, as Agricola, Constantia and the other senators' wives arrive in their carnival costumes, ignoring their husbands' fears for their moral safety. Finally the gondola in seen approaching, and the Duke ushers his guests into the ballroom while he prepares to greet his special lady guest. When Caramello and Annina arrive and masks are removed, Caramello is dismayed to discover who it is he has brought for the Duke's pleasure, but Annina fancies making the most of the opportunity with the Duke that fate has given her.
-Caramello does his best to warn the Duke off Annina. 'Don't trust her. She scratches and bites!' he warns. Finally Annina and the Duke are left alone and the disguised Annina is shocked and thrown on the defensive when the Duke rhapsodises over the receptive response that his advances to Barbara had previously aroused. As the orchestra in the ballroom strikes up a waltz, the Duke takes the reluctant Annina into his arms.
-Caramello finds an excuse to interrupt the amorous scene and Annina persuades the Duke to take her into the ballroom. While they are away, Caramello opens the doors to the Duke's apartments and a crowd enters, including Pappacoda, prominent in a faded, shabby senator's costume with false, misshapen nose and spectacles and with his pockets stuffed with sausages, meat and pastries. Pappacoda has brought with him all his tradesmen friends, to whom he has distributed invitations given to him by Caramello. They are wide-eyed at the scale of the Duke's hospitality and, having introduced his friends to Caramello, Pappacoda invites them to help themselves.
-As the Duke seeks somewhere to be alone with Annina, a group of senators and their wives detain him. Among them are Senator Delacqua and his supposed wife, and the Duke is taken aback at being introduced to a second Barbara. However, Annina identifies this 'wife' for the Duke as the masked Ciboletta. The Duke goes along with Ciboletta's pretence, as he recalls the serenade he had sung to Barbara at previous carnival times. Delacqua pushes the supposed Barbara forward to put his own case for the position of the Duke's steward, but Ciboletta instead asks for a place for Pappacoda as the Duke's personal cook and the Duke is only too ready to oblige her. Delacqua departs to join Barbara in Murano, leaving the Duke to take supper with Annina and Ciboletta. Caramello has sent away the servants, and he and Pappacoda wait on the trio personally in order to keep their eyes open for any unwelcome developments.
-As the Duke courts the two ladies, Caramello and Pappacoda repeatedly interrupt. The cook gives a timely discourse on his culinary arts before the senators' wives arrive seeking the Duke's attention. By now midnight is approaching-the time when the Duke must go to lead the revels in Saint Mark's Square. When the bells of Saint Mark's sound out, Annina joins in the revelry and all go off in masks to enjoy themselves.
-ACT 3
-In Saint Mark's Square, before the moonlit cathedral, the revellers are celebrating but Caramello stands alone, reflecting upon Annina's flirtation with the Duke and lamenting the fickleness of women. Ciboletta, meanwhile, is looking for Pappacoda to tell him of his appointment as the Duke's personal cook, a piece of news that dispels Pappacoda's wrath at Ciboletta's adventures with the Duke. Now they can marry. When Pappacoda goes to pay his respects to the Duke, Ciboletta reveals to the Duke that the young lady on whom he had been lavishing his attention was not Barbara but Caramello's sweetheart Annina. When the Duke finally catches up with Annina, he finds her telling the senators' wives all about her escapade with him. Fanfares announce the start of the grand Carnival procession, in which all sections of Venetian life are represented and, when it is over, the pigeons of Saint Mark's flutter down into the square.
-Delacqua has returned, distressed by the discovery that Barbara is not in Murano and, when she appears with Enrico, the young man reassures Delacqua with a story of how he has rescued his aunt Barbara from an impostor gondolier. The Duke is decidedly less interested in Barbara when he discovers that she has a nephew as big as Enrico, and he rewards Caramello for delivering him from a potentially awkward situation by making him his steward. Caramello and Annina can therefore join Pappacoda and Ciboletta in marrying, and the revelries are set fair to go on long into the night.
-The above synopsis follows the original text as finalised during the first Viennese run. The work is commonly performed in the 1923 revision by Ernst Marischka and Erich Wolfgang Korngold which, in the interests of smoothing the action, makes cuts and revisions to both dialogue and music. In particular, two numbers are added to build up the part of the Duke - 'Sei mir gegrüsst, du holdes Venezia!' (to music from Simplicius) in Act 1 and 'Treu sein-das liegt mir nicht' in Act 2 to the music originally given to Annina for 'Was mir der Zufall gab'.
 ==Notes==