Naughty Marietta (operetta)

Naughty Marietta is an operetta in two acts, with libretto by Rida Johnson Young and music by Victor Herbert, written as a vehicle for Emma Trentini and produced by Oscar Hammerstein I. Set in 18th century New Orleans, it tells how Captain Richard Warrington is commissioned to unmask and capture a notorious French pirate calling himself "Bras Pique". Warrington is helped and hindered by a high-spirited runaway, Contessa Marietta. The score includes several well-known songs, including "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life".

After a tryout in October 1910, in Syracuse, New York, it opened on Broadway in November to mostly strong reviews, ran for 136 performances and then toured. The operetta was revived on Broadway in 1929 and 1931 and has been adapted for film and television and recorded several times. It has been called Herbert's masterpiece and the first true American operetta.