The Influence Of European Operetta On The American Musical Theater

In the late 19~thh and the early 20~thh century,European operetta was a popular style of music theater in America.The purpose of this study is to show how European operetta influenced the American musical theater during its formation.This thesis examines operettas and musicals between 1878,the premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S.Pinafore to 1959,the premiere of the last Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Sound of Music.The first part will be an examination of the historical facts.Through this historical analysis,we can highlight the changing interaction between the two genres.The second part analyses specific parameters of exemplar musicals and operettas.These parameters are librettos,roles and fach,style of music and orchestration.The third part discusses briefly,what the different challenges performers in both genres face.European operetta was a big influence for American musical theater and there are many similarities in both.For a long time,they were arguably the same and the emancipation of the American musical was a gradual process.This act of separating itself from the operetta tradition was much accelerated through the two world wars.The anti-European sentiments made the creators and producers more aware of European influences and the focus became more and more the American popular music and it's dances.The challenges for performing contemporary musical can be very different compared to operetta.But older musicals that are still in the repertoire,demand acting,singing and dancing in a very similar way to operetta.As a performer of musical theater we might also be cast for an operetta if the role matches our performance style.Being able to cater to both genres can be a big plus for a performer,since there are theaters who have both operetta and musical in their repertoire.While operetta slowly decayed in Europe,the American musical theater managed to keep itself updated and caters to the contemporary taste.As popular music changed through the years,so did the musical theater.In a way,it is the successor of the European operetta,which used to be the popular music theater of its time.