Editing Operetta (section)

==Operetta in French==

=== Origins ===
Operetta was first created in Paris, France in the middle of the 19th century in order to satisfy a need for short, light works in contrast to the full-length entertainment of the increasingly serious ''[[opéra comique]]''.<ref name="Lamb Operetta" /><ref name="Kurt1" /> By this time, the "comique" part of the genre name had become misleading: [[Georges Bizet]]'s ''[[Carmen]]'' (1875) is an example of an ''opéra comique'' with a tragic plot. The definition of "comique" meant something closer to "humanistic", meant to portray "real life" in a more realistic way, representing tragedy and comedy next to each other, as [[Shakespeare]] had done centuries earlier. With this new connotation, ''opéra comique'' had dominated the French operatic stage since the decline of ''[[tragédie lyrique]]''. The origins of French operetta began when comic actors would perform dances and songs to crowds of people at fairs on open-air stages. In the beginning of the 18th century these actors began to perform comic parodies of known operas. These performances formed operetta as a casual genre derived from ''opéra comique'', while returning to a simpler form of music.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Abreu |first=Juliana |date=2004 |title=The Origin and Development of French Operetta in the Nineteenth Century |id={{ProQuest|305111951}} |oclc=56597428 }}</ref> Many scholars have debated as to which composer should be credited as the inventor of operetta; [[Jacques Offenbach|Jaques Offenbach]] or [[Hervé (composer)|Hervé.]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Strömberg |first1=Mikael |title=History Repeating Itself. The function of turning points and continuity in three historical narratives on operetta |journal=Nordic Theatre Studies |date=27 December 2017 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=102 |doi=10.7146/nts.v29i1.102970 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |url=https://tidsskrift.dk/nts/article/download/103311/152354 }}</ref> It is concluded that Hervé completed the groundwork, and Offenbach refined and developed the art form into the concept of operetta as we know it today. Therefore, "Offenbach is considered the father of French operetta – but so is Hervé."<ref name=":1" />

=== Notable composers ===
[[File:1878 poster for Jacques Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers.jpg|left|thumb|Playbill for a revival of ''[[Orphée aux enfers]]'']]Hervé was a singer, composer, librettist, conductor, and scene painter. In 1842, he wrote the one act ''opérette'', ''L'Ours et le pacha'', based on the popular [[Comédie en vaudeville|vaudeville]] by [[Eugène Scribe]] and [[X. B. Saintine]]. In 1848, Hervé made his first notable appearance on the Parisian stage, with ''Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança'' (after [[Miguel de Cervantes|Cervantes]]), which can be considered the starting point for the new French musical theatre tradition. Hervé's most famous works are the [[Charles Gounod|Gounod]] parody ''[[Le petit Faust]]'' (1869) and ''[[Mam'zelle Nitouche]]'' (1883).<ref name="whatsopdoc">{{Cite web|date=2016-01-05|title=The Merry Widow Lesson: What's Operetta, Doc?|url=https://utahopera.org/explore/2016/01/the-merry-widow-lesson-whats-operetta-doc/|access-date=2019-09-28|website=Utah Opera}}</ref>

Jacques Offenbach is most responsible for the development and popularization of operetta—also called {{lang|fr|opéras bouffes}} or {{lang|fr|opérettes}}—giving it its enormous vogue during the [[French Second Empire|Second Empire]] and afterwards.<ref name="Lamb Operetta" /> In 1849, Offenbach obtained permission to open the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, a theatre company that offered programs of two or three satirical one-act sketches. The company was so successful that it led to the elongation of these sketches into an evening's duration.<ref name="Lamb Operetta" /> However, Offenbach's productions were bound by the police prefecture in Paris, which specified the type of performance that would be allowed: "pantomimes with at most five performers, one-act comic musical dialogues for two to three actors, and dance routines with no more than five dancers; choruses were strictly forbidden."<ref name=":2" /> These rules defined what came to be defined as operetta: "a small unpretentious operatic work that had no tragic implications and was designed to entertain the public".<ref name=":2" /> Two other French composers, [[Robert Planquette]] and [[Charles Lecocq]], followed Offenbach's model and wrote the operettas ''[[Les Cloches de Corneville]]'' (''The Bells of Normandy'') and ''[[La Fille de Madame Angot]]'' (''The Daughter of Madame Angot'').<ref>{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|1932310532}} |last1=Fisch |first1=Elliot |year=2017 |title=Operetta Overview: Part 1: French and Viennese Operettas 1850-1900 |journal=American Record Guide |volume=80 |issue=5 |pages=51–57 }}</ref> The two operettas were considered a major hit.
[[File:Just a voice to call me dear.tiff|alt=Riviera Girl poster|thumb|One of the most well-known operettas of famous [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] playwright [[Emmerich Kálmán]] is the Csárdáskirálynő ("Czardas Queen"). It was played at [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], by the name 'Riviera Girl'.]]
The political limitations placed on Offenbach and Parisian theatre were gradually lifted, and operetta gained wide popularity. While Offenbach's earliest one-act pieces included ''[[Les deux aveugles]]'', ''[[Le violoneux]]'' and ''[[Ba-ta-clan]]'' (all 1855) did well, his first full-length operetta, ''[[Orphée aux enfers]]'' (1858), was by far the most successful. It became the first repertory operetta and was staged hundreds of times across Europe and beyond.<ref name=":2" />  Offenbach's legacy is seen in operettas throughout the late 19th century and beyond by encouraging [[Johann Strauss II|Strauss the Younger]] to bring the genre to Austria-Hungary. Offenbach also traveled to the US and England educating musicians on the more than 100 operettas he wrote during his lifetime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eno.org/discover-opera/beginners-guide-operetta/|title=The beginner's guide to operetta |publisher=English National Opera|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref> This international travel resulted in the appearance of strong national schools in both nations.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Letellier|first=Robert Ignatius|title=Operetta: A Sourcebook|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2015|isbn=9781443884259|pages=xvii, 83}}</ref> By the 1870s, however, Offenbach's popularity declined. The public showed more interest in romantic operettas that showed the "grace and refinement" of the late Romantic period. This included [[André Messager|Messager]]'s operetta ''[[Véronique (operetta)|Véronique]]'' and [[Louis Ganne]]'s ''[[Les saltimbanques]]''. The 20th century found French operetta even more out of favor as the international public turned to Anglo-American and Viennese operettas, which continued to develop the art form into the late Romantic era.