Operetta films (German: Operettenfilm) are a

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

musical films Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as break ...

associated with, but not exclusive to,

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

cinema. The genre began in the late 1920s, but its roots stretch back into the tradition of nineteenth century

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

operettas. Although some

silent films A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

had based their plots on stage operettas, the genre was largely a result of the switch from silent to

sound films A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

. The first all-talking operetta was '' The Desert Song'' (1929). This operetta had been filmed late in 1928 and was released early in 1929. The 1929 film ''

Melody of the Heart A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...

'', made by the German studio UFA, is credited as being the first all-talking "operetta film" made in Europe. It had been intended as a silent film, but the dramatic arrival of sound forced its production to be switched. Its combination of music and dancing proved to be a successful formula, and it was followed by many similar films. During the 1930s the trend spread to Britain, where a number of Operetta films were made (often in co-productions with German or Austrian studios), France and the United States. Many German

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

film-makers following the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

rise to power in 1933 were able to find work in other countries because of their experience in the genre. In the United States, a popular run of Operetta films were made starring

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...

and

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs ...

. In Britain the 1934

Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891, Linz – 8 January 1948, London) was an Austrian lyric tenor and film actor. He performed the tenor role in numerous operas, including ''Don Giovanni'' by Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte. Early life Richard Tauber was b ...

film '' Blossom Time'' was a major hit, spawning a number of imitations.

Selected films

* '' The Desert Song'' (1929) * ''

The Love Parade ''The Love Parade'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code musical comedy film, directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, involving the marital difficulties of Queen Louise of Sylvania (MacDonal ...

'' (1929) * '' Rio Rita'' (1929) * ''

'' (1929) * '' Bride of the Regiment'' (1930) * '' Song of the West'' (1930) * ''

The Rogue Song ''The Rogue Song'' is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic and musical film that tells the story of a Russian bandit who falls in love with a princess, but takes his revenge on her when her brother rapes and kills his sister. The Metro-Goldwyn-May ...

'' (1930) * '' Song of the Flame'' (1930) * '' Golden Dawn'' (1930) * ''

The Vagabond King ''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionali ...

'' (1930) * '' The Lottery Bride'' (1930) * '' Sweet Kitty Bellairs'' (1930) * '' Viennese Nights'' (1930) * '' Dixiana'' (1930) * '' The Land of Smiles'' (1930) * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (1930) * ''

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

'' (1930) * '' Retreat on the Rhine'' (1930) * '' Kiss Me Again'' (1931) * '' One Heavenly Night'' (1931) * '' Children of Dreams'' (1931) * '' Victoria and Her Hussar'' (1931) * '' The Love Express'' (1931) * '' The Emperor's Sweetheart'' (1931) * '' The Merry Wives of Vienna'' (1931) * '' Der Kongreß tanzt'' (1931) * '' Mamsell Nitouche'' (1932) * '' Gräfin Mariza'' (1932) * '' Goodnight, Vienna'' (1932) * '' Passionately'' (1932) * '' Bitter Sweet'' (1933) * '' Bon Voyage'' (1933) * '' There Is Only One Love'' (1933) * ''

A Southern Maid ''A Southern Maid'' is an operetta in three acts composed by Harold Fraser-Simson, with a book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham and lyrics by Harry Graham (poet), Harry Graham and Harry Miller. Additional music was provided by Ivor No ...

'' (1933) * '' The Tsarevich'' (1933) * ''

The Queen's Affair ''The Queen's Affair'' is a 1934 British musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Fernand Gravey, Muriel Aked and Edward Chapman. An Eastern European President falls in love with the Queen whom he had previously dep ...

'' (1934) * '' A Night in Venice'' (1934) * '' Princess Charming'' (1934) * '' Roses from the South'' (1934) * '' Waltzes from Vienna'' (1934) * '' Frasquita'' (1934) * '' The Voice of Love'' (1934) * '' Blossom Time'' (1934) * ''Two Hearts in Waltztime'' (1934) * '' Music in the Air'' (1934) * ''

Maskerade ''Maskerade'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the eighteenth book in the ''Discworld'' series. The witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg visit the Ankh-Morpork Opera House to find Agnes Nitt, a girl from Lancre, and ...

'' (1934) * ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' (1934) * '' Ball at the Savoy'' (1935) * '' Naughty Marietta'' (1935) * '' Heart's Desire'' (1935) * '' The Blonde Carmen'' (1935) * '' Happy Arenas'' (1935) *'' I Dream Too Much'' (1935) * '' Rose Marie'' (1936) * '' Dreams Come True'' (1936) * '' You Are Me'' (1936) * '' Chaste Susanne'' (1937) * '' Maytime'' (1937) * '' The Lilac Domino'' (1937) * '' The Girl of the Golden West'' (1938) * '' Roxy and the Wonderteam'' (1938) * '' Sweethearts'' (1938) * ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' (1939) * '' Opera Ball'' (1939) * ''

'' (1940) * '' Bitter Sweet'' (1940) * ''

Operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

'' (1940) * '' The Chocolate Soldier'' (1941) * '' Vienna Blood'' (1942) * '' The Desert Song'' (1943) * ''

Silva Silva, da Silva, and de Silva are surnames of Portuguese or Galician origin which are widespread in the Portuguese-speaking countries including Brazil. The name is derived from Latin ("forest" or "woodland"). It is the family name of the Hous ...

'' (1944) * '' Viennese Girls'' (1945) * '' Waltz Time'' (1945) * '' The Laughing Lady'' (1946) * '' Northwest Outpost'' (1947) * '' The Dancing Years'' (1950) * '' Véronique'' (1950) * '' Dance Into Happiness'' (1951) * '' The Merry Farmer'' (1951) * ''

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

'' (1951) * '' Feather in the Wind'' (1952) * '' Imperial Violets'' (1952) * '' Voices of Spring'' (1952) * '' The Land of Smiles'' (1952) * '' The Beauty of Cadiz'' (1953) * '' The Desert Song'' (1953) * '' The Flower of Hawaii'' (1953) * '' Rose Marie'' (1954) * '' Victoria and Her Hussar'' (1954) * ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' (1955) * ''

Four Days in Paris ''Four Days in Paris'' (French: ''Quatre jours à Paris'') is a 1955 French musical comedy film directed by André Berthomieu and starring Luis Mariano, Geneviève Kervine and Jane Sourza.Shiri p.147 It was shot in Eastmancolor at the Boulo ...

'' (1955) * '' Leila and Gábor'' (1956) * '' Opera Ball'' (1956) * ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'' (1956) * '' The Singer from Mexico'' (1957) * '' The White Horse Inn'' (1960) * '' The Bird Seller'' (1962) * ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' (1965) * ''

'' (1967) * ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...

'' (1983)

References

Bibliography

* *

Selected films

References

Bibliography

Further reading