Operetta - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

op·er·et·ta

Audio Help [op-uh-ret-uh] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a short opera, usually of a light and amusing character.

[Origin: 1760–70; < It, dim. of opera opera¹

]

—Related forms

op·er·et·tist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Operetta

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

op·e·ret·ta Audio Help (ŏp'ə-rět'ə) Pronunciation Key
n. A theatrical production that has many of the musical elements of opera but is lighter and more popular in subject and style and contains spoken dialogue. Also called light opera.

[Italian, diminutive of opera, opera; see opera¹.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

operetta
noun
a short amusing opera

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
operetta

Comic or lighthearted operas of the kind written by Gilbert and Sullivan. Operettas generally have a substantial amount of spoken (not sung) dialogue.

[Chapter:] Fine Arts

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Operetta

Op`er*et"ta\, n. [It., dim. of opera.] (Mus.) A short, light, musical drama.

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