What are the differences between opera, operetta, and American musicals?

Opera is a dramatic musical form born in the Renaissance in emulation of the heightened emotions of Greek tragedy and written in the tradition of great European art music. By the mid-nineteenth century, bourgeois audiences were demanding new entertainment, and Jacques Offenbach obliged with the operetta form. While it borrows many features from opera, it incorporates dance, farce, and clowning to tell a simple story that always culminates in romance fulfilled. American musicals developed out of a number of traditions, including operetta, and became popular the twentieth century. Musicals usually combine music, lyrics, choreography, and spoken dialogue to tell a story.

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