17 Operetta Musicals – A 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
Music/Lyrics: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Richard Wilbur, John Latouche, 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
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1925)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1938)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Ron Grainer Lyrics/Book: Ronald Millar
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Edvard Grieg Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Milton Lazarus, Homer Curran
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Music Genre: Operetta
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: E.Y. Harburg Book: Fred Saidy, Henry Mayers
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, Laurence Schwab
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Donnelly
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1924)
Music Genre: Operetta
Operetta/Musical Theatre Mixes
Music: Milton Schafer Lyrics: Ronny Graham Book: A.J. Russell
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta
Music/Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Book: Moss Hart
Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)
Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta
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
Music: Al Carmines Lyrics/Book: María Irene Fornés
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)
Music Genres: Folk / Musical Theatre / Operetta
Music/Lyrics: Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz Book: Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics: Leo Robin Book: Jerome Chodorov, Joseph Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Music Genres: Musical Theatre / Operetta
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 like these types of lists, check out the musical database. That’s where you’ll find musicals sorted by composer, theme, setting, and more!
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, a TESOL drama certificate, and has worked and interned with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.