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Verdi's Other Operas Trivia Quiz

Giuseppe Verdi wrote about 25 operas, most of which get fewer performances than his big hits but still deserve attention. Can you match the descriptions with the operas?

A matching quiz by madfilkentist. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
madfilkentist

Time
4 mins

Type
Match Quiz

Quiz #
419,517

Updated
Mar 31 25

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
68

Last 3 plays: Kabdanis (6/10), Guest 67 (8/10), lones78 (10/10).

(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.

Questions		Choices
1. An opera set in South America under Spanish colonization.		Attila
2. An operatic version of a play by Schiller about a famous woman in the Hundred Years' War.		Macbeth
3. One of Verdi's earliest operas, and one of only two comedies he set to music.		Luisa Miller
4. An adaptation of a play by Victor Hugo about a rebel-bandit. It's one of two Verdi operas in which the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V makes an unexpected appearance.		La Battaglia di Legnano
5. An opera about a barbarian invasion of Italy in the early Middle Ages.		Un Giorno di Regno
6. A Biblical opera about the Hebrew exile in Babylonia, with a chorus about longing for the homeland.		Alzira
7. Verdi's first Shakespearean opera, dealing with the murder of a king and the scheming that follows.		Il Corsaro
8. An opera alluding to an uprising in 1848, though to get it produced it was set in the Middle Ages. The censors shut it down anyway.		Giovanna d'Arco
9. An adaptation of the Schiller play "Kabale und Liebe" (Intrigue and Love), re-titled after the play's heroine. In spite of the English-sounding title, it's set in central Europe.		Nabucco
10. Verdi's operatic adaptation of a Byron poem about pirates.		Ernani

Select each answer

1. An opera set in South America under Spanish colonization.

2. An operatic version of a play by Schiller about a famous woman in the Hundred Years' War.

3. One of Verdi's earliest operas, and one of only two comedies he set to music.

4. An adaptation of a play by Victor Hugo about a rebel-bandit. It's one of two Verdi operas in which the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V makes an unexpected appearance.

5. An opera about a barbarian invasion of Italy in the early Middle Ages.

6. A Biblical opera about the Hebrew exile in Babylonia, with a chorus about longing for the homeland.

7. Verdi's first Shakespearean opera, dealing with the murder of a king and the scheming that follows.

8. An opera alluding to an uprising in 1848, though to get it produced it was set in the Middle Ages. The censors shut it down anyway.

9. An adaptation of the Schiller play "Kabale und Liebe" (Intrigue and Love), re-titled after the play's heroine. In spite of the English-sounding title, it's set in central Europe.

10. Verdi's operatic adaptation of a Byron poem about pirates.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. An opera set in South America under Spanish colonization.

Answer: Alzira

Not one of his biggest hits. Verdi supposedly pronounced the opera "really awful."

2. An operatic version of a play by Schiller about a famous woman in the Hundred Years' War.

Answer: Giovanna d'Arco

"Giovanna d'Arco" is, of course, the Italian equivalent of Joan of Arc. It has very little to do with history; she dies in battle instead of being burned.

3. One of Verdi's earliest operas, and one of only two comedies he set to music.

Answer: Un Giorno di Regno

The title translates as "A One-Day Reign," which was unfortunately prophetic, as that was the length of the opera's first run. Fortunately, it didn't make Verdi give up. The other comedy was his last opera, "Falstaff," which was a huge success.

4. An adaptation of a play by Victor Hugo about a rebel-bandit. It's one of two Verdi operas in which the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V makes an unexpected appearance.

Answer: Ernani

In this opera, Charles V comes from Charlemagne's tomb and is at first taken for Charlemagne's ghost. In "Don Carlos," he appears as a monk after historians say he died.

5. An opera about a barbarian invasion of Italy in the early Middle Ages.

Answer: Attila

This opera was successful at first, largely because of its subject matter, though it hasn't stood the test of time. Please remember that the protagonist's name is pronounced AT-il-a, not a-TIL-a.

6. A Biblical opera about the Hebrew exile in Babylonia, with a chorus about longing for the homeland.

Answer: Nabucco

"Nabucco" is called Nebuchadnezzar in English. The opera is based on the Biblical story of that king, though it takes a lot of liberties with it. The chorus "Va, Pensiero" is its best-known part.

7. Verdi's first Shakespearean opera, dealing with the murder of a king and the scheming that follows.

Answer: Macbeth

This opera includes not just three witches but a whole chorus of them. The characterization of Lady Macbeth was admired by critics and the public.

8. An opera alluding to an uprising in 1848, though to get it produced it was set in the Middle Ages. The censors shut it down anyway.

Answer: La Battaglia di Legnano

In 1848 the Milanese rose up against Austrian occupation. Legnano was one of the cities under Austrian domination. The opera, debuting in 1849, is ostensibly about an 1176 battle in which the Holy Roman (that is, Austro-German) Emperor Barbarossa was defeated.

9. An adaptation of the Schiller play "Kabale und Liebe" (Intrigue and Love), re-titled after the play's heroine. In spite of the English-sounding title, it's set in central Europe.

Answer: Luisa Miller

Verdi's opera is said to have more "Liebe" and less "Kabale" than Schiller's play. It still gets performed fairly often.

10. Verdi's operatic adaptation of a Byron poem about pirates.

Answer: Il Corsaro

"Il Corsaro" is the Italian equivalent of "The Corsair," the title of Byron's poem. Like Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirate King, the title character recognizes he's no hero, but he considers himself less hypocritical than some well-regarded people. The opera was never a success, and performances are rare today.

Source: Author madfilkentist

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