Der Graf von Luxemburg takes place in Paris. Réne, the titular count, is flat broke, having spent all his money on wine women and song (and wasted the rest, presumably). Then there's an older Russian prince who wants to marry Angèle, an opera singer, but he can't because he can only marry someone with a rank. So he plots to get René to marry her for a few months, conferring his title on her, and then they'll get divorced and Bob's yer uncle. You will NEVER GUESS what complication arises. There's also another couple, René's artist friend who fancies himself a Bohemian and his girlfriend who's annoyed because he won't marry her.
Eine Nacht in Venedig, by contrast, takes place in Venice, and the city don't know what the city is getting. Honestly, I don't know about these fetishizations of specific cities--ya seen one crowded, polluted, stinking town--well, anyway, the night in question is Carnival (naturally), and there are a bewildering number of couples whirling around trying to get laid (this is definitely the horniest operetta I've seen). There's also a Don-Giovanni-esque Duke looking to cuckold as many senators as he can. But things do not go according to plan, and we truly learn that one night in Venice makes a hard man humble. When you think about it, there's not much between despair and ecstasy. It's not a complicated plot per se, but it IS a bit hard to tell everyone apart. Truly, this is a show with everything but Yul Brynner. You like this? I can keep it up all day. If you want me to stop, send one thousand bitcoins to my account.
All right all right. So the thing is, operetta is light, but there are degrees of lightness, and it can be a fine balance. Here I think we can see a real contrast: both of these pieces have some great music, why wouldn't they?, but Der Graf von Luxemburg has a fun plot with appealing characters, whereas Eine Nacht in Venedig is almost alienating in its total indifference to anyone caring even a tiny bit about anyone involved. Composers, do not undervalue your librettists! They can make or break your work, and this is a very good example of that.
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