Opera and Operetta

I've mentioned that the mainstage show in which I'm appearing at OO as part of my Voice in Residence gig is The Pirates of Penzance. Even if you've never seen Pirates, you have probably heard of it. The music and libretto were written by the famous Gilbert & Sullivan, whose other famous operettas include HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, and plenty more. I'm singing a very small role (you could call it a supporting role, or in opera, we call it a comprimario role), Kate, one of the sisters of the lead soprano character, Mabel. Gilbert & Sullivan's operettas involve lots of chorus, so I'm a part of that, too.

So, what's operetta? Well, you probably have some idea of what opera is, and operetta is related to both opera and musical theater, and the lines are often blurred. Operetta usually involves a lighter, comical story and light, sometimes comical music. The music is still of high caliber, and the lyrics are usually very clever, sometimes more so than in some operas, but overall, operetta just feels lighter than opera. (Though, opera can be funny, too: Verdi's Falstaff, Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, and Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte are examples of comedic operas.) Some other famous operetta composers are Johann Strauss, Jr. (Die Fledermaus) and Jacques Offenbach (La belle Helene). Leonard Bernstein's Candide is generally considered an operetta, as well. You could say that operetta was the precursor to modern musical comedies you might see on Broadway. Oh, and there is generally some spoken dialogue in operetta, though the amount really varies from show to show and composer to composer.

So, there's my little summary. Pirates of Penzance at OO is going to be a fantastic show, because the caliber of singing and acting is really high, and the musical preparation and stage direction is (so far) pretty impressive for a small-ish company (with a mostly volunteer chorus!). I haven't seen the set or costumes yet, but I have a feeling they'll be beautiful!