ABSTRACT
BRITISH operetta had a difficult time after World War I recapturing the glorious years of Gilbert and Sullivan and the Edwardes era, when English shows were in demand internationally. With the exception of Sullivan, however, Britain was not able to come up with a truly outstanding operetta composer, although her librettists often shone. In the 1920s, American composers in England wrote scores for some British shows, while Broadway musicals and operettas enjoyed an enviable vogue. Several British composers attempted to write works that would withstand the American flood, but few succeeded, except in the realm of intimate revue, in which the London stage excelled.
