Extra Opera Summaries in Four Words Quiz

Answer: Capriccio

The main theme the characters discuss is whether music or poetry is the superior art form while attempting to stage an opera (which of course contains both). This isn't the only self-reflection in the piece: in one scene, servants discuss whether or not servants would make good protagonists for opera.

The composer, Richard Strauss, contributed to the libretto. He also wrote the libretto for his "Intermezzo", which essentially consists of sung dialogue.

Answer: The Cunning Little Vixen

Janacek's titular vixen, Sharp Ears, has lost her tail but not her spunk. A human is determined to keep her after capturing her, but she escapes, finds a nice fox, and has a large family. The opera doesn't condemn or praise the life cycle of animals: the circle of life and death simply exists, and while the humans have troubles, the animals accept the good and bad.

Answer: La Forza del Destino

Verdi once again makes an appearance in this quiz series. Leonora and Alvaro want to marry against her father's wishes, and the father is willing to kill Alvaro to prevent it. Alvaro tosses his gun down and it accidentally goes off, killing her father and altering the course of the lovers' lives.

Answer: L'elisir d'amore

Nemorino loves Adina, who won't even give him the time of day. She quickly falls for an officer, Belcore. Conman Dulcamara sells Nemorino an ordinary bottle of wine, telling him it's a love potion, and the lovestruck man hopes he can win her over that easily. Donizetti's opera was adapted into a stage show by W.S. Gilbert with the rather interesting title of "Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack".

Answer: The Rake's Progress

Stravinsky's opera is a morality tale about how riches and idleness lead to one's downfall. It is based on the series of paintings of the same name by William Hogarth. Tom Rakewell loves Anne Trulove (yeah, it's one of those allegories) but deserts her when Nick Shadow (the devil in disguise) arrives with an inheritance for Tom.

Answer: Orpheus in the Underworld

The myth of Orpheus has inspired many operas, including "L'Orfeo", one of the oldest surviving operas, and "Orfeo ed Euridice", which gives the story a happy ending. This version of the tale is a parody in which Orpheus conspires to have his detested wife Eurydice killed. Later, the gods rebel against their dull lifestyle and repair to the underworld.

The most well-known music from this Offenbach opera is the "Gallop Infernal", colloquially called the "can-can", which the gods dance in their rebellion.

Answer: Das Liebesverbot

This was Wagner's first opera; it was performed one time, and the composer disowned it afterwards. It's an adaptation of "Measure for Measure" in which a man is to be executed for impregnating a woman out of marriage. They actually are married, but due to a technicality, it isn't officially realized. Wagner never wanted it played at Bayreuth, the theatre he designed, but it has been staged there.

Answer: La Sonnambula

Amina is getting married. When she sleepwalks, the townspeople, including her fiance, believe her to be unfaithful to him, and everything must be put right. Bellini wrote this opera semiseria.

Answer: Il Ritorno D'Ulisse in Patria

Monteverdi's opera takes place at the very end of "The Odyssey" when Odysseus arrives home. After all his journeying, he still has to get his wife Penelope's suitors out of the house and then convince her that he is her husband. Another opera based on "The Odyssey" is "Penelope", which is told from her perspective.

Answer: Lulu

Lulu has multiple marriages and generally behaves badly. At the end she is murdered by Jack the Ripper. Alban Berg never finished his final opera. It was performed in its unfinished form for decades before Friedrich Cerha finished it.