Dedicated to the preservation of our operetta heritage
What Is Operetta Foundation?
Operetta Foundation is a private research institute dedicated to the preservation and promotion of our national and international operetta heritage. Located in Los Angeles since its founding as Operetta Archives in 1997, the Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation.
What Does The Foundation Do?
• Maintains a continually expanding library containing America’s largest collection of operetta-related material (books, scores, recordings, sheet music, programs, posters, and other ephemera). The current collection includes approximately 10,000 books, 5,000 vocal scores, and 77,000 audio and video recordings.
• Provides research and performance materials to opera and operetta companies, authors, newspapers, radio stations, performers, and music publishers. Recent users include: The Ohio Light Opera, Opera Australia, and Los Angeles Opera; Stefan Frey (author of German-language biographies of Emmerich Kálmán, Franz Lehár, and Leo Fall); and Josef Weinberger, Ltd. (European publisher).
• Produces CDs and DVDs on the Operetta Archives label—both historical and newly recorded. Examples include the first complete audio recordings of Kálmán's Countess Maritza and Arizona Lady (his last operetta); a 2-CD set of vintage recordings from the early days of musical theatre; and a DVD of Kálmán's never-before-recorded operetta A Soldier's Promise. Please click here, or on SHOP for complete product listings and purchase information.
• Sponsored Friends of Operetta, a Los Angeles-area group founded in 1995 for presentations of lectures and performances (live and recorded). Its mission: to entertain, educate, and provide opportunities for sharing and celebrating a love of operetta and musical theater. Special guests included Patricia Morison, John Raitt, and Julia Migenes. For a listing of past and scheduled meetings, please click here or on "Friends of Operetta."
• Produces live events, emphasizing rarely performed and all-but-forgotten music from operettas and early musical comedies. Recent productions have included the first performance in more than 60 years of Kálmán's 1945 Broadway operetta Marinka and a tribute to the music of Victor Herbert, Rudolf Friml, Jerome Kern, and Sigmund Romberg. For more information on these and other events, please click here or on "Concert Info."