Operetta: A Theatrical History

Abstract

This illustrated history of operetta documents a form of musical theatre which entertained audiences around the world for over a century. Coming at a time of renewed enthusiasm for operetta, Richard Traubner's volume details the creation of the genre's masterworks, from Orphee aux Enfers to Die Fledermaus, HMS Pinafore, The Merry Widow, The Desert Song, and White Horse Inn. It covers the careers of the major composers of operetta and librettists - such as Offenbach, Lecocq, Gilbert and Sullivan, Coward, and Lerner and Loewe - and discusses the minor ones as well in a chronicle of operetta's greatest theatres and most popular stars.