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what is the difference between an opera and operetta

by Heather Purdy Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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To put it simply, an operetta falls somewhere between an opera and a musical. Like a musical, an operetta (most often) contains spoken dialogue, as well as song. Operettas are often satirical and witty, and tend to be much shorter and less complex than traditional operas.

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What is the difference between a ballet and an opera?

Ballet is a see also of opera. In context|music|lang=en terms the difference between ballet and opera is that ballet is (music) a light part song, or madrigal, with a fa-la burden or chorus, most common with the elizabethan madrigal composers while opera is (music) the score for such a work. As nouns the difference between ballet and opera is that ballet is a classical form of dance while ...

What is the difference between opera, oratorio, and cantata?

is that cantata is (music) a vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement, typical of 17th and 18th century italian music while oratorio is (music) a musical composition on a religious theme; similar to opera but with no costume, scenery or acting.

What's the difference between an opera and a musical?

Summary:

  1. Musicals have more depth and priority to the story or plot.
  2. Operas give more priority to singing .
  3. Musicals may have segments of dancing whereas operas never have dances.
  4. Musicals utilize spoken texts in their song numbers.
  5. Operas are older than musicals.
  6. Operas usually employ the vibrato style of singing.

What is the difference between a musical and a rock opera?

In essence a rock opera (like a traditional opera) is a story that is told entirely through singing, while musical theater usually has spoken dialog as well as songs. Even in sung-through musicals, the songs are always in service of the plot of the story, while in rock opera, the plot could be vague, and (intentionally) open to interpretation.

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What are the main differences between operetta and opera bouffe?

Operettas, though usually comedic in nature, are usually written as much shorter and more frivolous or farcical works, in contrast to full-length and fully developed opera bouffe. In addition, operettas sometimes mix music and spoken dialog, in contrast to opera bouffe, which is usually presented entirely in music.

Is Gilbert and Sullivan an opera or an operetta?

Their works are known as Operettas Sitting somewhere between an opera and a musical, operettas, or 'light operas' flourished in the UK thanks to Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas, which are still popular with audiences today.

Is Hamilton an opera or operetta?

operaAnd “Hamilton,” indeed, is opera, in all the ways that count. Learning a show from a recording is very much like reading a book before seeing the movie version.

What is a operetta musical?

Operetta is a form of musical theater that mixes song with spoken dialogue and dance. It originated in France in the 1850s and spread internationally, with distinct styles emerging in Austria, Germany, England, the United States, and beyond.

What is the most famous operetta?

The most famous names in operetta are, undoubtedly, Gilbert & Sullivan, whose 14 well-known operettas include Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and HMS Pinafore. However, many lesser-known composers have written incredibly moving, beautiful musical pieces within the genre of operetta.

Is Les Miserables an opera or operetta?

operasEven Broadway musicals in which the music never stops , such as Les Miserables, Evita and Tommy, are actually operas.

Is Phantom of the Opera A operetta?

Nope, never. Phantom meets a lot of the criteria of a musical: popular vocal styles, popular music instrumentation (synthesizers and trap-set) and spoken dialogue. But it also has some classical vocal styles, and it doesn't have extended dance sequences, or the lead couple/comic couple structure.

Why is opera so hard to understand?

(1) Opera is usually in Italian, French, German or various Chinese dialects, which are languages you may not be fluent in. (2) When great, non-Anglophone, opera singers attempt to sing in English, their pronunciations are so off that their phrasing is unrecognisable. (3) Many singers of any genre have poor diction.

What is an example of operetta?

Hammerstein and Kern's “Show Boat” (1927) displays a strong operetta structure, and later musicals like “Kismet” (1953) and even “My Fair Lady” (1956) have embraced the operetta's romantic and exotic appeal.

What is a light opera called?

comic opera, also called Light Opera, general designation for musical plays with light subject matter and happy endings.

Who was the most successful operetta composer?

Franz LehárFollowing the death of Johann Strauss and his contemporary, Franz von Suppé, Franz Lehár was the heir apparent. Lehar is widely considered the leading operetta composer of the 20th century and his most successful operetta, Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), is one of the classic operettas still in repertory.

Is A Little Night Music an operetta?

As the most operetta-ish of Sondheim's shows, A Little Night Music has been (with the most operatic, Sweeney Todd) evidence for the view that Sondheim marries Broadway with the opera house. (Night Music's first three New York revivals were operatic not theatrical.)

What is the difference between an operetta and a musical?

Operettas contain spoken dialogue and often dancing; however, they differ from musical theatre in that the singing remains prominent, whereas in musicals the dialogue comes to the fore. Operettas tend to be shorter and less complex than traditional operas and are often (but not always) sung in English.

Is Pirates of Penzance an opera or operetta?

The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert.

Is West Side Story an operetta?

There is no question that CANDIDE and WEST SIDE STORY are both theatrical works where music plays a big role in storytelling. However, CANDIDE is often considered an operetta and WEST SIDE STORY is considered a musical, even though the same composer wrote the music to both shows.

What was the first American operetta?

De Koven, who was imitative of Gilbert and Sullivan, created the first successful American operetta, Robin Hood. Robin Hood premiered in 1890, it was the second of approximately 20 light operas created by the composer, and it was his most successful.

What is an opera house?

A building designed for the performance of such works; an opera house.

What is the plural of opus?

A collection of work (plural of opus).

What is the difference between opera and musical?

But primarily an opera is something done in an opera house in front of an opera audience. And a … musical … is something done in either a Broadway or Off-Broadway theater, in front of that kind of audience. (Here’s a link to the whole interview with Ned Rorem.)

Does Utah Opera have electric guitars?

Utah Opera did Man of La Mancha (which meets all the traditions of a musical) last season and followed it up immediately with the unquestionably operatic Lucia di Lammermoor and then The Long Walk, which included electric guitars in the orchestra. Can all these genres live side-by-side and even share the same space sometimes? Of course they can! We welcome into our canon of acceptable work whatever we like best. Whether you are a musical fan, an opera buff, or both – you’ll love Die Fledermaus.

Is Papageno an opera singer?

Popular vocal stylings? Yes. The role of Papageno was written for a theatrical comedian/impresario, not an operatic singer. His “arias” are strophic ditties written in the style of folk-songs. Of course, there’s plenty of classical vocal style too.

Is Fledermaus an opera?

This is not looking good for an opera-classification for Fledermaus. Yet Utah Opera did it in 1983, 1989 and 2003, and The Met’s last go-around with it was in 2016. Fledermaus is neither musical nor opera. It’s an operetta, yet another term for things that don’t fit the opera mold but that people want to see and hear on the operatic stage from time to time. It looks a heck of a lot like a Singspiel or an opéra-comique, or even a modern musical, but the title is spelled and pronounced differently.

Is The Phantom of the Opera an opera?

To the great disappointment of many, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera is a musical, not an opera. So why do we keep on having this conversation that makes us slap our foreheads so hard? The easy answer is “because Phantom fans just don’t know what they’re talking about.” (That’s what my snobbier friends say.) But that’s a serious over-simplification (and un-necessarily disrespectful). The real answer has much more to do with the complexity of categorizing musical and dramatic forms. As we’ll see, there are no hard and fast rules about the qualifications for operas and musicals, but let’s take a look at what “public opinion” generally holds for them side by side:

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1.Opera vs Operetta • Opera For All

Url:https://www.operaforall.co.uk/opera-vs-operetta/

17 hours ago  · Opera noun. A building designed for the performance of such works; an opera house. ADVERTISEMENT. Operetta. Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It …

2.Operetta vs. Opera - What's the difference? | Ask Difference

Url:https://www.askdifference.com/operetta-vs-opera/

9 hours ago Operetta noun. A theatrical production that has many of the musical elements of opera but is lighter and more popular in subject and style and contains spoken dialogue. Also called light …

3.Videos of What is The Difference Between an Opera And Operetta

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2 hours ago As nouns the difference between operetta and opera. is that operetta is (music) a lighter version of opera with a frivolous story and spoken dialogue while opera is (music) a theatrical work …

4.Operetta vs Opera - What's the difference? | WikiDiff

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28 hours ago  · The Difference Between Opera and Operetta. The main difference between Opera and Operetta is, obviously, the letters “ett” inserted into the word, giving Operetta an extra …

5.Opera, Operetta, or Musical? - Utah Opera

Url:https://utahopera.org/explore/2018/04/opera-operetta-or-musical/

8 hours ago  · As nouns the difference between operetta and opera. is that operetta is (music) a lighter version of opera with a frivolous story and spoken dialogue while opera is (music) a …

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