In theater and music history, a burletta (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic

intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

between the acts of an ''

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abou ...

''. The extended work Pergolesi's was also designated a "burletta" at its

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

premiere in 1758. In England, the term began to be used, in contrast to

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

, for works that satirized opera but did not employ musical parody. Burlettas in English began to appear in the 1760s, the earliest identified as such being ''

Midas Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...

'' by Kane O'Hara, first performed privately in 1760 near

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, and produced at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

in 1764. The form became debased when the term ''burletta'' began to be used for English comic or

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of England, English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier ''comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Sings ...

s, as a way of evading the

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

on "legitimate drama" in London belonging to Covent Garden and

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

. After the passage of the Theatres Act 1843, which repealed crucial regulations of the

Licensing Act 1737 The Licensing Act 1737 ( 10 Geo. 2. c. 28) or the Theatrical Licensing Act 1737 was an act in the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a pivotal moment in British theatrical history. Its purpose was to control and censor what was being said about the ...

, use of the term declined.

List of theatrical Burlettas

* ''

'' by Kane O'Hara (Belfast, 1760, Dublin, 1762) * ''Orpheus'' by François-Hippolyte Barthélémon (London, 1767) * ''The Judgement of Paris'' by Barthélémon (London, 1768) * '' The Recruiting Serjeant'' by

Charles Dibdin Charles Dibdin (before 4 March 1745 – 25 July 1814) was an English composer, musician, dramatist, novelist, singer and actor. With over 600 songs to his name, for many of which he wrote both the lyrics and the music and performed them himself ...

(London, 1770) * ''The Portrait'' by Samuel Arnold (1770) * ''The Portrait'' by Barthélémon (Dublin, c. 1771) * '' L'infedeltà delusa'' by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

(1773) * ''The Golden Pippin'' by John Abraham Fisher (1773) * ''Buxom Joan'' by

Raynor Taylor Raynor Taylor (1747 – 17 August 1825) was an English organist, music teacher, composer, and singer who lived and worked in the United States after emigrating in 1792. Active in composing music for the theater, outdoor pleasure garden, and the Ang ...

(1778) * ''Poor Vulcan'' by Dibdin (1778) * ''Marie Tanner'', words by Broughton Black and Poland Henry, music by

John Ivimey John William Ivimey (12 September 1868 – 16 April 1961) was an English organist and composer who specialized in comic operas. He also worked as director of music in schools and churches. Ivimey was awarded the degree of Doctor of Music by the ...

(produced at Cardiff, 1897) * '' Tom and Jerry, or Life in London'' by W. T. Moncrieff (1821)

Other Meanings

The word ''burletta'' has also been used for

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often r ...

-like instrumental music by composers including

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

and Bartók. In America, the word has sometimes been used as an alternative for

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * {{Opera genres Opera genres Italian opera terminology Comedy genres 19th-century theatre