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

These mid-century dream teams revolutionized American theater by popularizing the integrated musical, a form which leveraged classic operetta elements like song and dance as narrative tools.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

By 1934, Lubitsch had left Paramount for MGM, where he directed one last musical with Chevalier and MacDonald, a loose but fizzy adaptation of Franz Lehár’s operetta “The Merry Widow.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

The singer sported a Union Jack jester's hat for the traditional performance of Rule, Britannia! and blew kisses to the audience while singing Ruperto Chapí's tongue-twisting comic operetta Las Hijas Del Zebedeo.

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2024

But mostly when aiming for drollery, the songwriters overshoot and wind up at operetta.

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023

Nor that the young Rousseau should put some of his earliest thoughts about society and the individual in an operetta about Columbus and the Indians.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann