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Opera Buffa & Operetta 

by

Laís Lenci and Valerie Urrunaga

Comic Opera, also known as “light opera” is a gender of opera developed in Naples, Italy during

the eighteen century, and then expanding to other countries in Europe. The ending of the pieces

have often happy resolutions. Some of the forms of comic opera are “opera buffa” and “operetta”. 

Operetta  – It is a musical-dramatic production with a similar structure to a light opera, but

characteristically having a romantically sentimental.

The operetta originated in part with the tradition of popular theatrical genres such as

the Commedia.

During the nineteen century, the term “operetta” started to be used referring to stage plays with

music that were generally of a farcical and satiric nature. One of the most successful composers to

do this was Jacques Offenbach with his pieces “Orphée aux enfers” (1858; Orpheus in the

Underworld ) and “La Belle Hélène”  (1864; “The Beautiful Helen”). In this shows, he used Greek

mythology to express a satiric commentary on contemporary Parisian life and mores. Also, in

England, during the late 1870’s, the team of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, influenced by

Offenbach’s works, established their own part in the genre with their work. The best-known

include “The Pirates of Penzance” (1879), “The Mikado” (1885) and “Iolanthe” (1882).

The operetta traditions of Italy, Austria, France and England began to vanish in the early twentieth

century, but found new life in the United States in the works of Reginald De Koven (“Robin Hood ” ,

1890), Victor Herbert (Babes in Toyland , 1903) and Sigmund Romberg (The Student Prince, 1924.

Because of the development of jazz music in the United States, the transition from operetta to

musical comedy became a fact.

Opera Buffa  – The idea of this genre of comic opera was developed from the “ intermezzi ”  or

interludes that were performed between the acts of other serious operas. Some of these interlude

shows were more appreciated by the audience than the actual serious opera.

Some of the characteristics of this gender are the plots. They always center on two groups of 

characters: a comic group of male and female characters and a pair (or more) of lovers. The

arguments were always about simple matters, it was more about the every-day life. The stories

always have two acts.

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The dialogue is sung, but also there are some spoken dialogues. The language used during the

entire piece is the everyday language  –back in those days. The used of not a more regular

language made it more accessible to not only one specific kind of audience.

The operatic finale, a long, formally organized conclusion to an opera act, including all principal

personages, developed in opera buffa, as well.

The earliest opera buffa still regularly performed is Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s “La serva

 padrona” (1733; The Maid as Mistress). Other important opere are Gioachino Rosini’s “The Barber

of Seville” (1775), “The Marriage of Figaro” (1784) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and what they

said, it was the last piece written of this gender Giuseppe Verdi’s “Falstaff” in 1893.