Joe Green's Works Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nabucco

"Va, pensiero, sull'alli dorate" is the first line to the famous Hebrews' choir from Verdi's third opera, "Nabucco". The main roles are for Nabucco, king of the Babylonians; his daughters Abigail and Fenena; Ismaele, nephew of the Jewish king; and Zaccaria, high priest of the Jews.

The opera starts with the conquest of Jerusalem by Nabucco. Ismaele and Zaccaria are among the slaves deported to Babylon. Both Abigail and Fenena fall in love with Ismaele, but Ismaele prefers Fenena. When Abigail discovers she is not the real daughter of Nabucco, she plots to overthrow his government. Nabucco becomes insane and threatens to execute all Jews.

But when Fenena declares she has adopted the Jewish religion and will have to be killed with the other Jews, Nabucco recovers and sets the Jews free. "Mose in Egitto" is by Rossini, "Salome" by Richard Strauss and "Judith" by Emil von Reznicek.

Answer: O signore, dal tetto natio

In the opera "I Lombardi alla prima crociata" the main roles are for Arvino (Lord Folco) and his daughter Giselda. They participate in the First Crusade, and the army is besieging Jerusalem. After the prayer "O signore, dal tetto natio" the crusaders find a spring with potable water and they take courage for the final assault.
"Tu puniscimi" is the title of an aria from Verdi's opera "Luisa Miller" (1849)
Psalm 86:5 contains the verse "Poiche tu, Signore, sei buono, pronto a perdonare, e di gran benignita verso tutti quelli che t'invocano". This is translated as "You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you." (New international Version).
Psalm 145:3 in Italian is "Grande è il Signore e degno di ogni lode,
la sua grandezza non si può misurare" (Conferenza Episcopale Italiana), which translates in English to "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable." (King James Version).

Answer: Macbeth

The mention of the Scottish play was a major hint. Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth" is commonly called by this nickname, because superstitious people in the theatrical world believe the name of this play invokes bad luck, perhaps because the witches have an important part in the play. They prophesy what is about to come (see for example the aria "Tre volte miagole" - translated "Thrice the cat meows in lust // thrice the owl hoots and mourns // thrice the porcupine howls at the wind.")
"Patria oppressa! Il dolce nome // No, di madre aver non puoi." The choir sings this aria at the beginning of the final act, when the final battle between Macbeth and Macduff has to start.
Bellini and Prokofiev, to name only those two, composed an opera "Romeo i Giulietta". Ambroise Thomas was inspired by "Hamlet". Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldi composed "A Midsummer Night's Dream", with the famous wedding march.

Answer: The Duke of Mantua

"La donna è mobile // qual pium' al vento // muta d'accento // e di pensier'." When you've heard this merry tune, it nests itself in your mind as an interesting earworm. Wikipedia lists two translations into English (a literal one and a poetic one), but I've combined the two in order to fit even better the rhythm of this aria. "Rigoletto" is the opera from 1851 that contains this jingle, but the title character doesn't sing this very tune.

The title character is the jester at the court of the Duke of Mantua, a true womanizer.

When the Duke gets inamorato by Gilda, Rigoletto's daughter, he tries at first to win her confidence posing as a poor student. (See the aria "Gualtiere Maldi, caro nome".) But this ruse fails, and so the Duke has Gilda abducted from her room in order to rape her. Rigoletto swears to avenge his daughter's honour, and hires the assassin Sparafucile. Alas, Sparafucile kills the wrong person - as he brings to Rigoletto a bag with the body of his victim, Rigoletto hears the Duke singing "La donna è mobile" in the background...

Answer: Il Trovatore

Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" contains the anvil choir and the aforesaid aria, with the original lyrics "Di quella pira l'orrendo foco // Tutte le fibre m'arse avvampo". Manrico, the troubadour and title character, sings this when his foe the Count di Luna threatens to burn at the stake Azucena, the old gypsy woman who has raised Manrico.
The anvil choir uses indeed at least two hammers and anvils to support the music to the lyrics "Vedi, le fosche notturne spoglie // De' cieli sveste l'immensa volta // Sembra una vedova che alfin se toglie // I bruni panni ond'era involta." Wikipedia has the full lyrics and a translation into English.
The red herrings are other operas involving a pyre. "Giovanna d'Arco" is another opera by Verdi and tells the trial of Joan of Ark. In Wagner's "Götterdämmerung" the Valkyrie Brunhilde rides into a pyre on horseback, saving the Ring des Nibelungen from the greedy hands of Hagen. Dido throws herself on the pyre when Aeneas leaves her in Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas".

Answer: Alfredo and Violetta

"Libiamo, libiamo ne lieti calici" is the famous drinking song from "La Traviata". It is sung by Alfredo Germont and Violetta Valery. Alfredo tries to convince Violetta to share their lives, but Violetta is not yet ready to abandon her wandering flirtations.
You can find the full lyrics as well as a fine English translation on Wikipedia. I've just made a few minor changes in order to fit better the rhythm of the song.
Mimi and Rodolfo are the main characters in Puccini's opera "La Bohème". They sing the famous duet "O soave fanciulla".
Zurga and Nadir are two fishermen in Bizet's opera "Les pêcheurs de perles". Their duet "Au fond du temple saint" is well known.
Don Ottavio and his sister Donna Anna are two of the characters in Mozart's "Don Giovanni". They sing a duet after they find out Don Giovanni has killed the Commendatore in a duel.

Answer: Simon Boccanegra

This may be quite hard, for the opera "Simon Boccanegra" is not frequently listed on compilation disks. If you want to hear this music, you'll better try to acquire the full CD edited by Naxos with the 2002 recording at the Vienna State Opera or the 2010 recording made in La Scala, Milan.
Amelia Grimaldi, who is really Simon's daughter Maria, meets her fiancé Gabriele Adorno in the garden and urges him not to meddle in politics. When she proposes to him, his response is the aforesaid aria "Si, si, dell'ara il giubilo // contrasti il fato avverso // e tutto l'universo // io sfidero con te." The Italian text can be consulted on operaliber.it, the biblioteca digitale del libretto d'opera (only available in Italian).
"Orlando Furioso" is an opera by Vivaldi. "Il Pittore Parigino" ("The Parisian Painter") is the title of an opera by Domenico Cimarosa. And Alessandro Scarlatti composed an opera entitled "Mitridate Eupatore".

Answer: La Forza del Destino

After Don Alvaro is heavily wounded, Don Carlo starts the aria "Morir ! Tremenda cosa !". You can find the libretto as well as a translation on a site run by the Swiss non-profit organisation Kernkonzepte.
The outcome of the opera is that Alvaro recovers, only to be challenged by Carlo for a duel. Alvaro inflicts Carlo a fatal wound, and as he lies dying, he kills his sister Leonora. In a first version of the opera Alvaro then jumps into a ravine.
"Il Barbiere di Sevilla" is an opera by Rossini. Donizetti composed "L'Elisir d'Amore". And "Norma" is the title of an opera by Vincenzo Bellini.

Answer: Radames

You saw of course the opera is set in Egypt. Verdi's only opera with an Egyptian setting is "Aida", and the lines I've translated are a tiny part of the triumphal march ("Glori' al Egitto e ad Iside // che il sacro suol protégé // Al Re che il Delta regge // Inni festosi alziam!").
This aria, to the tune of which all the opera singers and extras come on to the stage, celebrates the victory of the Egyptian army, led by their commander Radames, over the Nubians. When the Triumphal March is over, Radames intends to ask Pharaoh to marry Aida, a servant in the Pharao's household. But then the people discover that Aida is the daughter of the Nubian king Amonasro, and that she helps her father to escape. Even worse, Radames tells Amonasro the campaign plans, hoping to win Aida's favour. Radames is condemned to be entombed alive, and by ruse Aida accompanies him into the tomb.
Osiride is Pharaoh's son in Rossini's opera "Mose in Egitto".
Nicias is a nobleman in Massenet's opera "Thais".
Adoniram is the architect in Gounod's opera "La Reine de Saba".

Answer: Otello

"Inno di gioia, l'ilare vampa // fuga la notte col suo splendor" are the two starting lines of this choir, named after the refrain "Fuoco di gioia". The refrain is indeed "Fuoco di gioia, rapido brilla // rapido passa, fuoco d'amor. // Splende, s'oscura, palpita, oscilla // l'ultimo guizzo, lampeggio e muor." I'll translate these lines too : "Fire of joy, lightens quickly // passes quickly, fire of love. // It shines, darkens, trembles and shivers // finally it flashes, flickers and dies."
"Otello" was the penultimate opera by Verdi. It premiered in 1887, and only "Falstaff" was even later (1893). He started his career with "Oberto" (1839) and "Un Giorno di Regno" (1841). "I Masnadieri" was another opera of Verdi's, which premiered in 1847.
"Otello" is based upon Shakespeare's eponymous theatre play, about a Moorish general in Venetian service who suspects his wife (Desdemona) to have a romantic affair with the captain of the guard. But this is merely a plot set out by Otello's aide-de-camp Iago, who wants to utterly destroy the general.