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1. I am watching a re-run on the TV. It is "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" (2003) and there is a familiar operatic duet playing as Lara spars with her butler Hillary. The adverts come on and there it is again in a British Airways advert, and then again in one for Ghirardelli chocolates. I switch channels and catch the same aria in another film, "Meet The Parents" (2000). What is that aria?
2. I hear a familiar duet as I walk from the kitchen. The TV is trying to sell me an Audi car whilst I wait for the film to continue. I remember that it comes from "The Tales of Hoffman" opera. Perhaps the film will tell me the name of the duet in the credits. It is Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" (2011) and I also heard the duet earlier in the film. What is its name?
3. Have you ever eaten a Cornetto ice-cream cone? Every time I get one, my brain echoes to the sound of: "Just one Cornetto, give it to me ...". Since Wall's corrupted the lyrics, I've forgotten the original Neapolitan version. What is it called?
4. The other day I saw the French historical drama "Jean de Florette" (1986). It reminded me of a Stella Artois lager advert, which conveniently appeared during one of the intervals with its 'Reassuringly Expensive' message. My better half informed me that the musical theme for both came from the Italian opera "La forza del destino", but she wouldn't tell me whose opera it was. Who composed the opera?
5. Son Number Two is getting to the end of the "Far Cry 3" video game when familiar music sounds out - I am not surprised that it involves a helicopter scene. It is not until later that evening when the family is watching the classic war film "Apocalypse Now" (1979) that Son Number Two realises he has heard the music before. The scene has Wagner blasting out of speakers as helicopters sweep in from the sea to attack a village. Son Number Two now wonders what the name of the piece is. What is the correct answer?
6. Channel hopping on TV one night, I am beginning to overdose on Carl Orff. First, it appears in an advert for Carlton Draught pale lager. So I get up and get a beer out of the fridge. Next, on the Brit sitcom "Only Fools and Horses", Rodney has spied his nephew Damien which sparks off more Orff. After that finishes, "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003) is on next but not before advert for Gatorade, which gives Orff another airing. Better add that to the shopping list. Finally, it appears in the film as well. Sigh. What piece of Carl Orff's have I been listening to?
7. You should never do your supermarket shopping when your brain is resonating to a familiar refrain. When I came to unpack my haul of goodies, amongst all the pasta and pizza, there was Spatini spaghetti sauce mix, Doritos and Leggo's tomato paste. I sense an Italian theme here (although not with the Doritos) and caught myself trying to find out where the nearest Olive Garden restaurant was. How fickle is that? What music from Verdi's "Rigoletto" has caused this?
8. Watching a Pepsi Challenge on TV the other night, it occurred to me that both Pepsi and Coca Cola have had adverts with operatic themes as well. Coca Cola chose the melancholic "Vesti la Giubba" from the opera "Pagliacci" and Pepsi went for a modern interpretation of the "Habanera" aria from the opera "Carmen". An aural Pepsi Challenge taste test is not going to work here; instead, tell me which former member of Destiny's Child sang for Pepsi.
9. A few months ago I watched the 1987 film "Fatal Attraction", which stars Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. There is an element of art imitating art here as the film has an operatic theme. Glenn Close plays Alex, the spurned lover, who becomes emotionally unstable and seeks revenge. It features two arias from a Puccini opera, which tells the story of an abandoned Japanese lover who in the end kills herself. What is the name of the opera?
10. I splashed out last year and went and saw the film "The Lone Ranger" (2013), which starred Johnny Depp as Tonto. I've been watching the Lone Ranger, shouting "Hi-Yo. Silver! Away!", for so long on TV that I'd forgotten that the music actually comes from an opera by Rossini. What is the name of the opera?
Source: Author
suomy
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
ralzzz before going online.
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