Musical Lists

16 Operetta Musicals – The Full List of Shows

Are you looking for an operetta musical for an upcoming project? An operetta is a “light opera”, but “operetta musicals” fall somewhere in between an operetta and a musical. The following shows are sometimes classified as operettas, and other times as musicals.

In the “Operetta/Musical Theatre Mixes” section towards the bottom of the page, you’ll find shows that are primarily classified as musicals, but that also feature aspects of operetta or other genres.

The following list is broken down into two categories – “Operetta Musicals” and “Operetta/Musical Theatre Mixes”. Each category is sorted alphabetically.


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Operetta Musicals

Candide

Music/Lyrics: Leonard Bernstein  Lyrics: Richard Wilbur, John La Touche, Stephen Sondheim*, Dorothy Parker  Book: John Caird*, Hugh Wheeler*, Lillian Hellman

* Writers who worked on the 1974/1999 revivals of the show

Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)

Music Genre: Operetta


Dearest Enemy

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics: Lorenz Hart  Book: Herbert Fields

Musical Type: Jazz Age (1925)

Music Genre: Operetta


Knickerbocker Holiday

Music: Kurt Weill  Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson

Musical Type: Jazz Age (1938)

Music Genre: Operetta


Robert and Elizabeth

Music: Ron Grainer  Lyrics/Book: Ronald Millar

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)

Music Genre: Operetta


Song of Norway

Music: Edvard Grieg  Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest  Book: Milton Lazarus

Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)

Music Genre: Operetta


The Desert Song

Music: Sigmund Romberg  Lyrics/Book: Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel

Musical Type: Jazz Age (1926)

Music Genre: Operetta


The Happiest Girl in the World

Music: Jacques Offenbach  Lyrics: Yip Harburg  Book: Fred Saidy, Henry Mayers

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

Music Genre: Operetta


The New Moon

Music: Sigmund Romberg  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, Laurence Schwab

Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)

Music Genre: Operetta


Operetta/Musical Theatre Mixes

Bravo Giovanni

Music: Milton Schafer  Lyrics: Ronny Graham  Book: A.J. Russell

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)

Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta


Kean

Music/Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest  Book: Peter Stone

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta


Lady in the Dark

Music: Kurt Weill  Lyrics: Ira Gershwin  Book: Moss Hart

Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)

Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta


Magdalena

Music: Heitor Villa-Lobos  Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest  Book: Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Homer Curran

Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)

Music Genres: Folk Operetta / Musical Theatre


Promenade

Music: Al Carmines  Lyrics/Book: María Irene Fornés

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)

Music Genres: Folk / Musical Theatre / Operetta


The Gay Life

Music/Lyrics: Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz  Book: Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta


The Girl in Pink Tights

Music: Sigmund Romberg  Lyrics: Leo Robin  Book: Jerome Chodorov, Joseph Fields

Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)

Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta


Through the Years

Music: Vincent Youmans  Lyrics: Edward Heyman  Book: Brian Hooker

Musical Type: Jazz Age (1932)

Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta


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Which of these operetta musicals is your favorite?

Or have you ever played a role in any of the above operetta musicals? Feel free to share in the comments below! And if you enjoy exploring these lists, check out the musical database, where you can discover musicals organized by composer, theme, setting, and much more!


Stacy Karyn, Author of Operetta Musicals.
Author: Stacy Karyn

Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip, author of The Thespian’s Bucket List, and creator of The Cast Album List. She holds a BA in theatre and a TESOL drama certificate, with experience working and interning in Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.


 

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