Operetta in the XXI century defined and re-defined. Here it is, "It's Never Too Late to Lie" with music by contemporary classical composer Patricio da Silva and original libretto in English by Irene Dische.
Operettas in EnglishThe first operettas in English language originate in England in the 1860s of which Arthur Sullivan's Cox and Box (1866) is thought to be the first. Gilbert and Sullivan, thanks to their long-running collaboration across the Victorian era, solidified the operetta format in England. W. S. Gilbert wrote the words (the libretti, as best known in the classical world) and Sullivan composed the music, and together the pair created 14 of some of the all-time best operettas and comic operas, later called Savoy Operas. with their popular extending from Britain to the U.S., and pretty much elsewhere in the Western wide of the world.
American OperettasEarly American operetta composers include Victor Herbert, whose operettas at the beginning of the 20th century were influenced by both Viennese operetta and Gilbert and Sullivan. Victor Herbert was succeeded by Sigmund Romberg and Rudolph Friml.
American Operetta vs. American Music TheaterThe operetta as a classic music genre as largely morphed, since the end of World War I, into musicals and American musical theater. Before that, the dividing line between opera and operetta has traditionally been fuzzy. Typically less serious in content and shorter in length, the operetta has made a living out of satire, humor, and amusement.
That is what is typically assumed in the musicals by Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and several others. American classical composers provide few rare Operetta examples, and these most notably include American operettas by composers Leonard Bernstein's Candide and Patricio da Silva's It's Never Too Late to Lie.
The operetta "It's Never Too Late To Lie" with music by composer Patricio da Silva is now available as Youtube video.