Operatic History: the Seventeenth Century Quiz

Answer: Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was born in 1533. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558. She chose never to marry, although there were certainly several suitable candidates. After her death the Tudor dynasty was succeeded by the House of Stuart - in the person of James I, a distant relative of Henry VII.


Rossini (1792-1868) was an Italian composer. In his youth he created at least 56 operas, of which the best known is "Il barbiere di Siviglia" ("The Barber of Sevilla"). Later on, he specialised in church music. Louis XVI (1754-1793) was crowned King of France in 1774. A few years after the French Revolution (1789), he was forced to abdicate (in 1792). His only son died in prison during the revolutionary regime.

Nicholas II (1868-1918) was the last Czar who actually ruled Russia. He was dethroned in March 1917 (in the first Russian revolution of that year). Nicholas and his family were executed in Yekaterinberg in 1918, and their bodies were hastily burnt. The bodies were found and identified in 1991. Rumours stated that Nicholas' daughter Anastasia had survived. Several young women of approximately Anastasia's age have tried to impersonate Anastasia.
Francis I of Austria (1768-1835) was the last Habsburg Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (where he reigned under the name Francis II - there had previously another German Emperor Francis). He occupied this position from 1792 until 1806. He was also Emperor of Austria from its proclamation in 1804 till 1835.

Answer: Boris Godunov

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) was a Russian composer, a member of "The Five" - composers who developed Russian classical music. He completed seven operas. Besides Mussorgsky, "The Five" consisted of Mili Balakirev (1837-1910), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), Cesar Cui (1835-1918) and Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was another Russian composer. I have found not one single opera dedicated to Rachmaninoff, or for that matter, to any other Russian composer.

Michael Strogoff was a fictional character. Jules Verne (1828-1905) wrote an adventure novel about one of the Czar's courtiers, named Michael Strogoff.
Michael Romanov (1596-1645) was the first Czar belonging to the Romanov dynasty. He reigned in name from 1613 until 1645, but in fact his father Filaret was in charge up till 1633.

The Czar we were looking for in this question was Boris Godunov (1552-1605). He was the son-in-law of Czar Ivan IV Grozny ("The Terrible"). When Ivan's son Demetrius was killed in 1591, Boris was one of the suspects. However, he was acquitted and ascended the throne a few years later.

Answer: Le Béarnais

Boïeldieu (1775-1834) was a French composer. He left us at least 37 operas.
Henry IV (1553-1610) ascended the French throne in 1589. In 1572, he already became King of his birth region: a territory that is situated partly in northern Spain, partly in the South-West of France. In Spain this region is called Navarra; in France it is called Béarn. This region contains the cities Pau, Lourdes and (in Spain) Pamplona. The region of Béarn gave its name to a sauce containing tarragon and served cold or warm.

Andalusia is a region in the south of Spain. It includes cities as Granada and Malaga. This region also gave its name to a cold sauce with mashed tomatoes.
"Le Provençal" would refer to someone of the region of Provence: a region in South-East France, with cities as Avignon, Marseille and Nice. This region also gave its name to a warm sauce, containing tomatoes and paprika.

"Le Lorrain" refers to someone living in Lorraine, a region in the South-East of Belgium, Luxembourg and the North-East of France. This region gave its name to the "quiche lorraine": a pie filled with cream, egg and leek (although there are many varieties).

Answer: William Shakespeare

Benvenuti (1838-1906) was an Italian composer. He created six operas.
Shakespeare (born in 1564) wrote comedies, tragedies, historical dramas, and so on. Most of his plays are still performed regularly today. The works of Shakespeare inspired many operas (for example: Othello, Falstaff, Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream) and over 400 movies and TV series.

Answer: The Puritans

Bellini (1801-1835) was an Italian opera composer. He made about eleven operas, including "Norma", "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "I Puritani". It is this last opera I refer to in this question.

The Methodists were founded in 1739 by the brothers Wesley. They prefer a simple liturgy and very concrete practice of charity.

The Quakers (official name: "The Society of Friends") are a religious movement founded around 1648 in reaction to the exaggerated formalism in the Anglican Church. One of the most prominent Quakers was William Penn, founder of Philadelphia.

The Amish are a group of Anabaptists (Protestants) living in the USA but ethnically hailing from Germany and German-speaking regions of Switzerland. There are three subdivisions of the Amish. The best known subdivision is the Old Order, which consistently refutes modern inventions such as automobiles, electricity and telephone.

During the reign of King James I conditions for the Puritans in England deteriorated. In 1620, a small number of Puritans crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower and founded a colony in America. Puritanism nowadays has connotations of a preoccupation with all forms of sex traditionally forbidden by Christian teachings; it is also associated with the view that the scriptures should be interpreted fairly literally.

Answer: Johannes Kepler

Battistelli is an Italian composer born in 1953. Up till 2006, he composed five operas. I hereby refer to his debut "Keplers Traum". This title refers to a manuscript by Kepler published posthumously, which was entitled "Somnium" ("The Sleep" or "The Dream"). In this booklet, Kepler tries to figure out the nature of astronomy if this science would be exercised by any extra-terrestrial.
Kepler (1571-1630), the only German scientist mentioned above, developed three laws on the movement of planets. He proved that planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun in one of the focuses, and that the speed at which they travel is related to the distance to the Sun. Kepler's third law is too complicated to explain here.

Newton (1642-1727) is clearly not a German, but an English scientist. He developed the theory of gravity and also wrote a book on optics. As for his laws of gravity, popular history recites that he was inspired by an apple falling from a tree (and perhaps on his head).

Copernicus (1473-1543) was a Polish astronomer. He is credited with being the first to develop a heliocentric vision of our solar system (this means a system in which the Sun is the central spot). This was contrary to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, which upheld a geocentric vision (in which Earth is the centre not only of our solar system, but even of the whole universe).
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was a Danish astronomer. He made quite detailed observations of the planet Mars. He wasn't convinced by Copernicus and kept a geocentric vision.

Answer: Adriaan Brouwer

Meulemans (1884-1966) was a Belgian composer. Apart from three operas, he also left us about twenty-five compositions for musical theatre plays. Adriaan Brouwer was born in Oudenaarde (province of East Flanders) in 1606. After following painting courses in Holland, he settled in Antwerp.

Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) was a famous Antwerp painter and a pupil of Rubens. His masterpiece is "The Bean King" - a painting of a popular event in the Low Countries around Epiphany. On January 6th, one would bake a cake and hide one raw bean in it. Whoever found the bean, would be king for that one day.
Jan Steen (1626-1679) was a Dutch painter. He depicted mostly domestic scenes, but with a twist of disorder. Steen's families frequently were involved in booze, gluttony, and unchaste activities. (I chose here for a euphemism, for after all, this is a family site).

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was another Dutch painter. He specialized in domestic scenes with people of the middle class. Most of his portraits depict women that live in the houses of traders.

Answer: The Night Watch

Badings (1907-1987) was a Dutch composer. He completed six operas. Von Klenau (1883-1946) was a German composer who left us at least four operas and two ballets.

The painting I refer vaguely to in the question is "The Night Watch" by Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn. Originally it was intended to show a certain company preparing for a religious parade. However, being exposed for several decades in a room lit only by candlelight has left a dark shadow on the painting - hence the impression that it depicts a scene of nightlife, instead of a scene that plays in the early afternoon.

"The Lances" is the nickname of a painting by Velazquez: "The Rendering of Breda". In this painting, the Spanish delegation accepting the surrender is accompanied by a company of lance bearers. Their prominent place on the painting does tend to draw the attention away from the actual surrender.
"The Smiling Woman" is my proper translation of the name "La Gioconda" - better known as the painting "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. In fact the nickname "La Gioconda" refers not to Lisa's mysterious smile, but to the family name of her husband.

"Springtime near San Rafael" is the subtitle of a painting also known as "In the Sacramento Valley". The artist who made this painting, is Frederick Ferdinand Schlafer.

Answer: Galileo Galilei

Glass (born in 1937) was inspired by several geniuses. He also composed "Einstein on the Beach". Up till 2006, he created 17 operas and several pieces of musical theatre.

Galilei (1564-1642) discovered the formula for the oscillation of pendulums while attending Mass. He looked at the chandeliers being lit by some church official, and measured their swinging against his own heart beat. Another well known story about Galilei is the one of his conflict with the Catholic Church over the heliocentric universe. The Church forced Galilei to revoke his statements that the Earth moves around the Sun. Popular history adds that Galilei muttered the words "Eppur si muove" ("And yet it moves") at the end of the trial, or (as some sources suggest) on his death bed. This quote, however, is not based upon historical evidence.

Answer: Cyrano de Bergerac

Victor Herbert was a prolific American composer. He left us at least 49 operas, revues and musical comedies.

All the characters I've mentioned were once played by Gerard Depardieu (born in 1948). However, I have given you the choice between only one historic person and three fictional characters. Obelix le Gaulois is probably the best known of these fictional characters. He is the best mate of Asterix. Depardieu played this role in several movies based upon the comic books: "Asterix and Obelix Take on Caesar", "Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra".

Jean Valjean is the leading character in Victor Hugo's novel "Les Misérables", which also inspired a musical theatre play by Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 1944). Edmond Dantès is the hero in a novel by Alexandre Dumas (Sr.). Dantès is falsely accused of treason and locked away in the Château d'Yf - a notorious prison that can be compared to Alcatraz. Dantès manages to escape after thirteen years, finds a treasure and impersonates the fictional "Count of Monte Christo". In this role, he seeks vengeance.

Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655) was indeed a historic person. He wrote several theatre plays, and won several duels. According to the theatre play and movie, he chose every comment on the shape of his nose as an insult and just cause for a duel. Not only Victor Herbert, but also Walter Damrosch (1862-1950) and Franco Alfano (1875-1954) named an opera after Cyrano.

Answer: New York

De Koven was an American composer of operettas. Besides his twenty-odd operettas (which he himself entitled as "light operas"), he also completed two actual operas.

Knickerbockers are a certain type of trousers that reach just to the knee. It was the traditional outfit of the Dutch settlers in early New York (named "Nieuw Amsterdam" up till 1664). Washington Irving (1783-1859) chose the pseudonym "Knickerbocker" to publish his novel "History of New York". There is also a basketball team named the New York Knicks, and there has been a baseball team named the New York Knickerbockers.

The other options I've given were also inspired by different sport teams: the Baltimore Orioles (baseball), the San Francisco 49ers (American football) and the Atlanta Silverbacks (soccer).

Answer: Baruch de Spinoza

Alfred Mendelsohn (1910-1966) was a Hungarian composer. He created four operas, two operettas and one ballet.

Descartes (1596-1650) was a French philosopher and mathematician. He started to doubt everything, and concluded that the only fact he could be certain of, was his own existence ("I think, therefore I am"). He lived for twenty years in the Netherlands.

Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher, who published "Kritik der reinen Vernunft" ("Critique of Pure Reason") and "Kritik der praktischen Vernunft" ("Critique of Practical Reason"). These books are highly specialised works and I would advise you not to start reading them unless you want a Master's degree in philosophy.

Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher and physician, who developed empiricism (a philosophical system in which only pure observation can provide pure knowledge).

Spinoza (1632-1677) was born in Portugal, but obtained Dutch citizenship. He tried to explain everything as a proof of God's existence. He was raised as an Orthodox Jew, but the Jewish community expelled him because of his quite unconventional theories.

Answer: Yes

Isouard (1775-1818) was born in Malta. His active life was on French soil. Although he reached only the age of 43, he still left us 42 operas. Lully (1632-1687) was a French composer of Italian descent. His most treasured works are the ballet intermezzi in his operas. www.operone.de lists sixteen of his ballets and sixteen of his operas. Quinault (1635-1688) was a French poet.

He started writing pure drama, but took on libretti when he met Lully. Lully composed the grand majority of his operas on libretti by Quinault.

Answer: "A Witch of Salem"

Cadman (1881-1946) was an American composer. His works include an operatic cantata and three operas. "A Witch of Salem" was his final opera, and the only one in three acts.

Captain William Lynch (1742-1820) was a sheriff in Virginia known for his summary executions. He practiced summary executions for the simple reason that the villains he arrested would probably escape if they had to be transferred to the few courts of justice in Virginia. On most occasions, he arrested some villains at quite a distance from the nearest court of justice. The verb "to lynch" was probably derived from his surname. However, most punishments operated by Captain William Lynch were not death penalties, but (for example) a severe flogging.

The verdict in "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" was reached in 1954. This famous lawsuit dealt with racial segregation in schools: the Supreme Court unanimously rejected segregation on a racial basis. However, it took several years before the different States adapted their policy. Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) is one of the few Supreme Justices whose name can be found in history textbooks. He was the first Afro-American to be appointed (in 1967) to the Supreme Court of the United States, and represented Oliver L. Brown in the aforesaid lawsuit "Brown v. Board of Education".

Although you would expect to find most traces of witchcraft trials in Europe, America did also experience some trials on witchcraft. The most notorious of these trials was held in Salem, Massachusetts. Fourteen women and six men were convicted of witchcraft and executed, but these were not the only victims of the witch hunt. Five people died in prison awaiting trial.

Answer: Carpenter

Lortzing (1801-1851) was a German composer. He completed about twenty operas.
Surely you didn't pick the option "computer analyst". Neither Peter the Great (1672-1725) nor Albert Lortzing ever saw a computer. Charles Babbage developed what could be named the first computer around 1847, but did not have the funds to turn this into an effectively working machine.

Peter the Great had to flee the Kremlin in his childhood. He grew up in a small village named Preobrazhenskoye. During his adolescence, he trained himself for the military life: he and a number of his servants would take on some youngsters of neighbouring villages in mock battles. In 1698, Peter decided to tour Europe. He wanted to modernise Russia, and concluded that a mighty fleet would be needed to this end. So he started learning the craft of carpenter in order to design and build ships - both for the Russian navy as for the commercial fleet. By the way, Peter dabbled in some other professions too: he made his own shoes, and cut the beards of several Russian nobles. As Peter was more a man of the action than a man of words, he was never involved in the profession of interpreting and translating. He had to rely on his own interpreters to communicate with many of his European fellow sovereigns.
A twenty-first century politician could well use acting classes. However, throughout history up till the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the theatre had an infamous reputation. Actors and actresses were frequently taken for prostitutes (and not always mistaken).