Operetta (literally "little opera") is a genre of light opera – light in terms of the subject matter and light in terms of the music itself. Operetta also shares many characteristics with musical theatre . The following is a list of composers who have written works in this genre:
Paul Abraham 2 November 1892 (Apatin ) – 6 May 1960 (Hamburg )Leo Ascher 17 August 1880 (Vienna ) – 25 February 1942 (New York City )Edmond Audran April 11, 1842 (Lyon ) – August 17, 1901 (Tierceville )Joseph Beer May 7, 1908 (Gródek – November 23, 1987 (Nice )Ralph Benatzky June 5, 1884 (Moravské Budějovice ) – October 16, 1957 (Zürich )Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 (Lawrence ) – October 14, 1990 (New York City )Paul Burkhard December 21, 1911 (Zürich ) – September 6, 1977 (Zell)Emmanuel Chabrier January 18, 1841 (Ambert ) - September 13, 1894 (Paris)Mario Pasquale Costa July 24, 1858 (Taranto ) – September 27, 1933 (Monte Carlo )Charles Cuvillier April, 24, 1877 (Paris ) – February 14, 1955 (Paris)Reginald De Koven April 3, 1859 (Middletown, Connecticut ) – January 16, 1920 (New York City )Rudolf Dellinger July 8, 1857 (Graslitz ) – September 24, 1910 (Dresden )Anton Diabelli September 6, 1781 (Mattsee ) – April 7, 1858 (Vienna )Nico Dostal November 27, 1895 (Korneuburg ) – October 27, 1981 (Salzburg )Mihály Erdélyi May 28, 1895 (Szeged ) – January 27, 1979 (Budapest )Edmund Eysler March 12, 1874 (Vienna ) – October 4, 1949 (Vienna)Leo Fall February 2, 1873 (Olomouc ) – September 16, 1925 (Vienna )Rudolf Friml December 7, 1879 (Prague ) – November 12, 1972 (Los Angeles)Richard Genée February 7, 1823 (Danzig ) – June 15, 1895 (Baden bei Wien )Edward German February 7, 1862 (Whitchurch, Shropshire ) – November 11, 1936 (London )Kostas Giannidis 1903 (Smyrna ) – 1984 (Athens )Jean Gilbert February 11, 1879 (Hamburg ) – December 20, 1942 (Buenos Aires )Walter Goetze April 17, 1883 (Berlin ) – March 24, 1961 (Berlin)Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. April 9, 1855 (Vienna ) – 26 April 1907 (Vienna)Victor Herbert February 1, 1859 (Dublin ) – May 26, 1924 (New York City )Hervé June 30, 1825 (Houdain ) – November 4, 1892 (Paris )Richard Heuberger June 18, 1850 (Graz ) – October 28, 1914 (Vienna )Friedrich Heinrich Himmel November 20, 1765 (Treuenbrietzen ) – June 8, 1814 (Berlin )Programme cover for an 1881 production of The Pirates of Penzance Arthur Sullivan Igo Hofstetter June 1, 1926 (Linz ) – March 2, 2002 (Linz )Jenő Huszka April 24, 1875 (Szeged ) – February 2, 1960 (Budapest )Eduard Ingris February 11, 1905 (Zlonice ) – January 11, 1991 (South Lake Tahoe, California )Victor Jacobi October 22, 1883 (Budapest ) – December 10, 1921 (New York City )Georg Jarno June 3, 1868 (Budapest ) – May 25, 1920 (Breslau )Leon Jessel January 22, 1871 (Stettin ) – January 4, 1942 (Berlin )J. Rosamond Johnson August 11, 1873 (Jacksonville, Florida ) – November 11, 1954 (New York City )Emmerich Kálmán October 24, 1882 (Siófok ) – October 30, 1953 (Paris )Walter Kollo January 28, 1878 (Neidenburg ) – September 30, 1940 (Berlin )Fritz Kreisler February 2, 1875 (Vienna ) – January 29, 1962 (New York City )Eduard Künneke January 27, 1885 (Emmerich am Rhein ) – October 27, 1953 (Berlin )Oscar de Lagoanère August 25, 1853 (Bordeaux ) – May 23, 1918 (Paris )Calixa Lavallée December 28, 1842 (Verchères, Quebec ) – January 21, 1891 (Boston )Alexandre Charles Lecocq June 3, 1832 (Paris ) – October 24, 1918 (Paris)Franz Lehár April 30, 1870 (Komárom ) – October 24, 1948 (Bad Ischl )Ruggero Leoncavallo April 23, 1857 (Naples ) – August 9, 1919 (Montecatini )Paul Lincke 7 November 1866 (Berlin) – 3 September 1946 (Hahnenklee , Goslar)Pietro Mascagni December 7, 1863 (Livorno ) – August 2, 1945 (Rome )John Henry Maunder February 21, 1858 (London ) – January 21, 1920 (Brighton )André Messager December 30, 1853 (Montluçon ) – February 24, 1929 (Paris )Karl Millöcker April 29, 1842 (Vienna ) – December 31, 1899 (Baden bei Wien )Sigmund Mogulesko December 16, 1858 (Kalarash ) – February 4, 1914 (New York City )Oskar Nedbal March 26, 1874 (Tábor ) – December 24, 1930 (Zagreb )Edmund Nick September 22, 1891 (Reichenberg ) – April 11, 1973 (Geretsried )Ivor Novello January 15, 1893 (Cardiff – March 6, 1951 (London )Jacques Offenbach June 20, 1819 (Cologne ) – October 5, 1880 (Paris )Giuseppe Pietri May 6, 1886 (Campo nell'Elba ) – August 11, 1946 (Milan )Robert Planquette July 31, 1848 (Paris – January 28, 1903 (Paris)Heinrich Proch July 22, 1809 (Vienna ) – December 18, 1878, (Vienna)Lev Pulver December 18, 1883 (Yekaterinoslav ) – 1970 (Moscow )Virgilio Ranzato May 7, 1882 (Venice ) – August 20, 1937 (Como )Fred Raymond April 20, 1900 (Vienna ) – January 10, 1954 (Überlingen )Emil Reesen May 30, 1887 (Copenhagen ) – March 27, 1964 (Gentofte )Sigmund Romberg July 29, 1887 (Nagykanizsa ) – November 9, 1951 (New York City )Theophrastos Sakellaridis 1883 (Athens ) – 1950 (Athens )Spyridon Samaras 17 November/29 November 1861 (Corfu ) – 25 March/7 April 1917 (Athens )Gaston Serpette November 4, 1846 (Nantes ) – November 3, 1904 (Paris )Dmitri Shostakovich 25 September 1906 (Saint Petersburg ) – 9 August 1975 (Moscow )Ludwig Schmidseder August 24, 1904 (Passau ) – June 21, 1971 (Munich )Edward Solomon July 25, 1855 (London ) – January 22, 189 (London)John Philip Sousa November 6, 1854 (Washington, D.C. ) – March 6, 1932 (Reading, Pennsylvania )Petar Stojanović September 7, 1877 (Budapest ) – September 11, 1957 (Belgrade )Robert Stolz August 25, 1880 (Graz ) – June 27, 1975 (Berlin )Oscar Straus March 6, 1870 (Vienna ) – January 11, 1954 (Bad Ischl )Johann Strauss II October 25, 1825 (Vienna – June 3, 1899 (Vienna)Johann Strauss III February 16, 1866 – January 9, 1939 (Berlin )Heinrich Strecker February 24, 1893 (Vienna ) – June 28, 1981 (Baden bei Wien )Arthur Sullivan May 13, 1842 (London ) – November 22, 1900 (London)Franz von Suppé April 18, 1819 (Split ) – May 21, 1895 (Vienna )Albert Szirmai July 2, 1880 (Budapest ) – January 15, 1967 (New York City )Oscar Ferdinand Telgmann c. 1855 (Mengeringhausen ) – March 30, 1946 (Toronto )Claude Terrasse January 27, 1867 (L'Arbresle ) – June 30, 1923 (Paris )Arthur Goring Thomas November 10, 1850 (Sussex ) – March 20, 1892 (London )Ivo Tijardović September 18, 1895 (Split ) – March 19, 1976 (Zagreb )Vincenzo Valente February 21, 1855 (Corigliano Calabro ) – September 6, 1921 (Naples )Louis Varney May 30, 1844 (New Orleans ) - August 20, 1908 (Cauterets )Zsigmond Vincze July 1, 1874 (Zombor) – June. 30, 1935 (Budapest)Ivan Zajc August 3, 1832 (near Rijeka ) – December 16, 1914 (Zagreb )Carl Zeller June 19, 1842 (Sankt Peter in der Au ) – August 17, 1898 (Baden bei Wien )Carl Michael Ziehrer May 2, 1843 (Vienna ) – November 14, 1922 (Vienna)
Sheet music from the operetta, Babes in Toyland Victor Herbert
Gänzl, Kurt . The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre (3 volumes). New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.Traubner, Richard . Operetta: A Theatrical History . Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1983 
