operetta

American  

[op-uh-ret-uh] / ˌɒp əˈrɛt ə /

noun

1. a short opera, usually of a light and amusing character.

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operetta British  

/ ˌɒpəˈrɛtə /

noun

1. a type of comic or light-hearted opera

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operetta Cultural  

1. Comic or lighthearted operas of the kind written by Gilbert and Sullivan. Operettas generally have a substantial amount of spoken (not sung) dialogue.

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Other Word Forms

• operettist noun

Etymology

Origin of operetta

1760–70; < Italian, diminutive of opera opera ¹

Example Sentences

But Lubitsch envisioned, as no one else did, what might come of marrying sound films with a modified form of operetta.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

The rock band Queen were the star guests at the Last Night of the Proms, giving their first ever symphonic performance of their rock operetta, Bohemian Rhapsody.

From BBC • Sep. 13, 2025

Wilson recently conducted two performances of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta “Princess Ida” on period instruments, with “tiny trombones and cornets and gut strings and everything.”

From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2023

A grand operetta on the vagaries of romantic love, “A Little Night Music” is no small undertaking.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2023

They were all outfitted with showy uniforms that looked like costumes from an operetta, but he was unable to make them wear shoes, because they were accustomed to going barefoot and could not adjust.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende