Opera Houses & Theaters Trivia

1. The Royal Albert Hall is probably London's most famous venue for classical music, although it also hosts a much wider range of events, including conferences, ballroom dancing, and sports such as tennis and boxing. From where did it get its name?

From Quiz Concert Halls of London

Answer: From Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria

Prince Albert proposed the construction of a "Central Hall of Arts and Sciences" near the site of the 1851 Great Exhibition, but died in 1861, a full 10 years before its completion. His widow, Queen Victoria, decreed that the building should be renamed the "Royal Albert Hall" in his memory, and it was she who attended its official opening ceremony on 29 March 1871. It was designed by the civil engineers Francis Fowke and Henry Scott, and is situated on Kensington Gore, opposite Kensington Gardens. Interestingly, it is not actually in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, but within the boundaries of the City of Westminster.

From Quiz A Racing View of Opera Houses Around the World

Answer: Italy

Till the 1630s opera was usually performed at palaces and courts and thus only seen by nobility, due to a lack of places for its performance as well as the expensive and elaborate costumes required. In 1637 the Teatro di San Cassiano, the first public opera house, was opened in Venice, allowing the common people the possibility of viewing an operatic performance.

From Quiz Curtain Up for Act Two - 10 More London Theatres

Answer: Barbican Theatre

The Royal Shakespeare Company staged many memorable productions at the Barbican, including the long-running musical "Les Miserables" which was first performed there in 1985 before transferring to the West End. Following the RSC's departure, the Barbican moved to hosting a variety of brought-in shows, from mime to pantomime, often featuring foreign companies.

From Quiz Curtain Up on 10 London Theatres

Answer: Sam Wanamaker

Sam Wanamaker founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust in 1970, dedicating the rest of his life to obtaining permission, and then raising money, for the construction of an approximate representation of the original 1599 theatre, as close as possible to its original site. Sadly, he died in 1993 while the building was still incomplete. It officially opened for business in 1997.

From Quiz International Concert Venues

Answer: London, UK

Shepherd's Bush Empire first opened in 1903 with performances by The Fred Karno Troupe. After some decades as a TV studio-theatre for the BBC (1950s to 1990s), it was turned into a live-music venue again in 1995. Some of the artists to perform there were The Kinks, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Eric Clapton, Duran Duran, Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper.

From Quiz The Sydney Opera House

Answer: Jorn Utzon

Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, it is meant to represent a ship at full sail to fit in with its setting on Sydney Harbour (though a friend of mine insists it resembles broken eggshells - well, he is from Queensland.. ;)). Eugene Goossens was a conductor and a composer. He was also the director of the Conservatorium of Music in the late 1940's and mid 50's and instrumental in getting the idea for the Opera House off the ground. Ove Arup was head of the engineering firm responsible for the construction of the Opera House and Hans van Steenwinckel was a Danish architect from the 17th century.

From Quiz Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre

Answer: The Royal Exchange

The theatre is on the old trading floor of the Royal Exchange, once described as "the biggest room in the world". The share prices, as at close of business on the final day of trading, are still displayed.

From Quiz The New Globe Theatre, London

Answer: 1993

The project to rebuild The Globe was actually launched in 1970 by American actor Sam Wannamaker, but building didn't begin until 1993 due to lots of planning and many beaurocratic difficulties.

From Quiz Western European Opera Houses

Answer: London

They were redoing the whole place when I visited there in 1997.

From Quiz Concert Halls of London

Answer: The Queen's Hall was destroyed during a German air raid

On the night of 10 May 1941, the Queen's Hall was hit by an incendiary bomb and totally destroyed by fire. One of the few items to survive intact was a bronze bust of Sir Henry Wood, which was rescued to preside over every subsequent Prom Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The Queen's Hall acoustics were in fact much better than those of the Royal Albert Hall, which were notoriously poor.

From Quiz The World of Music

Answer: Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden is in New York City. The twelve shows Billy did were part of a U.S. tour he was doing. On the tour, he didn't sing any new songs. He just sang songs he made throughout his career, including some not so well-known songs. The number 12 is hanging in the rafters of Madison Square Garden because of this amazing achievement.

From Quiz A Racing View of Opera Houses Around the World

Answer: Milan

This majestic neo-classical building was founded by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and designed by the famous Italian architect Giuseppe Piermarini. The theatre was built on the grounds of what used to be the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, giving its name to the opera house. It opened its doors in August of 1778, with the opera "L'Europa riconosciuta" by Antonio Salieri. The theatre has been renovated on several occasions throughout its history. It was severely damaged during WWII as the theatre was heavily bombed, and had to be rebuilt before it was reopened in 1946. Its latest renovations took place from 2002 to 2004, in which the utmost care was taken to bring back its original architectural and decorative splendour of the 18th century.

From Quiz Curtain Up for Act Two - 10 More London Theatres

Answer: Whitehall

The Whitehall farces tended to involve a harassed Brian Rix running in and out of a succession of doors and losing his trousers in the process. Quite daring for their day, they come very much from the same stable as the early "Carry On" films, with a similar mix of mild innuendo, pretty girls, and errant males getting their come-uppance.

From Quiz Curtain Up on 10 London Theatres

Answer: London Palladium

"Sunday Night at the London Palladium" was a weekly variety show, featuring singers, comedians and other entertainers. It was enormously popular, and at the peak of its popularity nearly half of the population of the UK would watch (and this at a time when not everyone even had a TV set).

From Quiz International Concert Venues

Answer: San Francisco, USA

Having moved its location several times, the Fillmore reopened at its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard in 1991. The Fillmore has seen psychedelic acts such as The Who or The Doors, and punk bands such as Black Flag and The Dead Kennedys. Recently, "Fillmore" has been used as a brand name for venues in cities throughout the USA, such as Detroit, Philadelphia or New York City. See www.thefillmore.com for details.

From Quiz The Sydney Opera House

Answer: 1.056 million

The Opera House sails are covered in approximately 1.056 million tiles. Imagine having the job of cleaning the mould off the grout between all of those!

From Quiz Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre

Answer: The 59 Theatre Company

The 59 Theatre Company (later to transmogrify into the 69 Theatre Company) enjoyed great success in London, Manchester and 'on the road', before securing a permanent home.

From Quiz The New Globe Theatre, London

Answer: 1996

Sam Wannamaker died in 1993 and never saw his project completed.

From Quiz Concert Halls of London

Answer: The business was seized as enemy property during World War I

Bechstein had its London piano showroom in Wigmore Street, and funded the construction of the hall as a means of advertising its pianos, which were used for concerts there. But as a German-owned company, the showroom and its contents, plus the adjacent hall, were taken over by the Government during the First World War and auctioned off for whatever they could raise. Fortunately for music lovers, the concert hall was saved and reopened as the Wigmore Hall, after the street in which it stood.

From Quiz The World of Music

Answer: Brazil

The Wire Opera House is in the state of Parana in Brazil. It is called the Wire Opera House because of its design. The opera house is called Opera de Arame in Portuguese.

From Quiz A Racing View of Opera Houses Around the World

Answer: Barcelona

The Barcelona music palace was built in a very unique and emblematic modernist style for the Orfeó Catalá. Designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and mainly built by funds from the elite of Barcelona and other private owners, it opened its doors in 1908. The Palau's distinctive feature is its steel structure, and its stained glass walls allowing the sunlight to come into the building, filling it with light and colours.

From Quiz Curtain Up for Act Two - 10 More London Theatres

Answer: John Gielgud

The theatre opened in 1906 with the name of the "Hicks Theatre", becoming the "Globe" three years later. The change of name to the "Gielgud Theatre" in the 1990s was intended to avoid confusion with the reconstructed "Shakespeare's Globe" then being built in Southwark.

From Quiz International Concert Venues

Answer: Frankfurt, Germany

Named after a dialect word for a tight-fitting hat, this venue in Germany's financial capital Frankfurt has attracted fans and bands alike since 1976. The bands playing there are mainly from an alternative background, including both German bands such as Die Happy or Wir Sind Helden and international acts such as Mad Caddies, Sick Of It All or Ignite. For more information visit their website http://www.batschkapp.de.

From Quiz The Sydney Opera House

Answer: Bennelong Point

The Opera House stands loud and proud on Bennelong Point. It originally housed Fort Macquarie, designed by convict architect Francis Greenway, to protect the foreshores of Sydney Harbour. Around 1901, the Fort was demolished to make way for a Tram depot, which remained there until the late 1950's when construction began on the Opera House.

From Quiz Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre

Answer: Seven

The seven-sided theatre has 400 seats at stage level, with two upper levels, each slightly off-set to the stage level, each seating 150. This makes it the largest "theatre in the round" in the UK, and what is more remarkable is that no seat is more than seven metres away from the stage.

From Quiz A Racing View of Opera Houses Around the World

Answer: Manaus

The theatre was built in the years of the Brazilian Belle Epoque, when the area thrived financially due to the extraction of rubber. The original idea came from Antonio Jose Fernandes Júnior, who wanted to build a "jewel in the heart of the Amazon jungle". No expense was to be spared - it would even include electrical lighting, at a time when most of Brazil still had no electricity. Everything was to be imported: marble from Carrara in Italy; the chandeliers and the glass from Murano; the furniture from France in the style of Louis XV; the roofing tiles from Alsace; and even the steel was imported from England. It was designed in a Renaissance style and it finally took seventeen years to build, finally opening in 1896.

From Quiz Curtain Up for Act Two - 10 More London Theatres

Answer: Drury Lane

"Live at Drury Lane" was recorded in front of a live audience in 1974, and consists mostly of sketches from the TV series. Purists will note that it also includes the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch, which was originally written for the pre-Python "At Last the 1948 Show".

From Quiz Curtain Up on 10 London Theatres

Answer: Cats

"Cats" was written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and at the time of its closure was the longest-running musical in the world.

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