From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishoperettaop‧e‧ret‧ta /ˌɒpəˈretə $ ˌɑːp-/ noun [countable] APMAPTa funny or romantic musical play in which some of the words are spoken and some are sung → opera
Examples from the Corpus
operetta• Except for a film version of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, his film career was mainly an extension of his operetta activities.• Oh yes, her voice was good, but voice alone wasn't enough in operetta.• Are we perhaps being invited to see the simpering good taste of operetta as the flip-side of the Victorian stews?• The White Horse Inn organises operetta evenings every week.• Herbert's operetta "Babes in Toyland"• Every single operetta really stood on the lead performances, on his lead performances.• The audience, many of whom knew the operetta well, were puzzled.• Who turned the scene round, made it work so that the rest of the operetta is not totally ridiculous?• And three: I have always loved the opera, the operetta.Origin operetta (1700-1800) Italian opera; → OPERA 