Essay Sample on Origins of Operetta: A Look at Musical Theatre

Introduction

The origin of operetta came along with the tradition of favourite theatrical genres including the commedia dell'arte that succeeded from 16th to the 18th century in Italy. In the same centuries, it flourished as vaudeville and ballad opera of France and England respectively (Sorba 284). The word operrata came to indicate the music playing in the stage in the 19th century. The music was common of a satiric and comical nature (Sorba 284). Musical theatre is a kind of theatrical presentation that unites spoken dialogue, dance, songs and acting (Potter 276). In Europe, the musical stage can be outlined back in the theatre of ancient Greece in the 5th century where dance and music were involved in stage tragedies and comedies (Potter 276). The main aim of this essay is to explain the first events leading to Broadway.

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Broadway is a place which is located in the theatre district found in Manhattan, New York City. For any exhibition to qualify Broadway, it has to be hosted in one of the 40 professional theatres that are capable of withstanding 500 or more seats. For a presentation to be hosted in Broadway is evidence of achievement that is favoured to be the most significant level accomplishable for commercial theatre. The following are the events which lead to Broadway;

Broadway origins began in 1750 in the 18th century when Walter Murray and Thomas Kean launched a theatre corporation on Nassau Street. Nassau street was big enough to accommodate 280 patrons and performed ballad operas, and Shakespeare plays (Moore 81). It stopped as a result of the revolutionary war in the city and started again in 1798. A theatre with 2000 was constructed and named The Park Theatre (Moore 81). In 19th century 1826, the Bowery Theatre was constructed which performed both nonmusical and musical entertainments. An entertainment complex was launched in the 1840s at Manhattan by Barnum. Astor place theatre was built and opened in 1849. A riot happened when after the lower-class onlookers took offence to the upper-class viewers that appeared in the Astor (Moore 81). The riot divided theatre in New York where the superior class visited the opera, Medium class melodramas and the working class went to shows of their choice. Princess theatre performances became famous in the 20th century. The most popular presentations were The Red Mill, Marietta, Babes and Naught in Toyland. It is at this time when the Broadway electric signs started. The white lights began to be used in The Red Mill as the first performance (Moore 81).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the origin of Operetta and Musical stage can be dated back in the 16th to 19th centuries Italy, England and France. Broadway origins began in 1750 in the 18th century when Walter Murray and Thomas Kean launched a theatre corporation on Nassau Street. There is a myriad of events which contributed to the formation of Broadway and the reason it was famous from back in the 16th century.

References

Moore, Thomas Gale. "The demand for Broadway theatre tickets." The Review of Economics and Statistics (1966): 79-87.

Potter, Robert. The English Morality Play: Origins, History and Influence of a Dramatic Tradition. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975.

Sorba, Carlotta. "The origins of the entertainment industry: the operetta in late nineteenth-century Italy." Journal of Modern Italian Studies 11.3 (2006): 282-302.