Editing Operetta (section)

== History ==
Operetta became recognized as a musical genre around 1850 in Paris. In 1870, the centre for operetta shifted to Vienna when Paris fell to the Prussians.<ref name=":4" /> The form of operetta continued to evolve through the [[World War I|First World War]].<ref name=":4" />

There are some common characteristics among operettas that flourished from the mid-1850s through the early 1900s, beginning with the French [[opéra-bouffe]].<ref name="Kurt1">[[Kurt Gänzl|Gänzl, Kurt]]. [https://bachtrack.com/playlist-operetta-musical-not-quite-opera-month-october-2019 "Toperettas: the history of operetta in ten works"], Bachtrack.com, 22 October 2019</ref> They contain spoken dialogue interspersed between musical numbers, and often the principal characters, as well as the chorus, are called upon to dance, although the music is largely derived from 19th-century operatic styles, with an emphasis on singable melodies.<ref name="Lamb Operetta" /> Operetta in the twentieth century is more complex and reached its pinnacle in Austria and Germany.<ref name=":5" />

Operetta is a precursor of the modern [[musical theatre]] or the "musical".<ref>Jones, J. Bush (2003) [https://books.google.com/books?id=WqQH31qkYNoC&dq=Bordman+pinafore&pg=PA4 ''Our Musicals, Ourselves''], pp. 10–11, 2003, Brandeis University Press: Lebanon, New Hampshire {{isbn|1584653116}}</ref> In the early decades of the 20th century, operetta continued to exist alongside the newer musicals, with each influencing the other. The distinctive traits of operetta are found in the musical theatre works of [[Jerome Kern]], [[Richard Rodgers]] and [[Stephen Sondheim]].<ref name=":4" />