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 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

This was hardly the best operetta production during his long and celebrated decade of leadership at the Komische Oper.

From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2023

‘Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert’ The Strauss Symphony of America and a cohort of singers and dancers perform classic waltzes and operetta selections by Johann Strauss II in this festive offering.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2022

Still, in the silence of the night, when the city lost its stage-set normality and operetta peace, she was besieged by the agonizing thoughts she had repressed during the day.

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