"Moonstruck" at the Opera Trivia Quiz

Answer: Francesco Cavallo

Calisto was seduced by Jupiter, who took the form of the goddess Diana (Calisto had been Diana's favorite). As a result of this, she was banished from Diana's entourage and subsequently transformed into a bear by the envious Juno. Ultimately, however, Jupiter placed her in the heavens as the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear).

Cavalli was a student of Claudio Monteverdi; this delightful opera is one of his most celebrated works. The balance between the often reprehensible behaviour of the various deities and the low-comedy antics of the servants prefigures the similar depiction of the servants and aristocracy in the Mozart-Da Ponte operas of the following century.

Answer: Carlo Goldoni

In the climactic scene of this comic opera, the foolish and domineering father Buonafede is drugged by the astrologer Ecclitico and taken to the latter's garden. He is led to believe that the garden is the moon and to envision his daughters and their lovers as mythological and/or royal figures. By the time he emerges from his drugged state, the betrothals have taken place and the chastened Buonafede gives his blessing to the marriages.

"Il Mondo della Luna", like the rest of Haydn's operatic ouvre, has never become part of the standard repertoire, despite some lovely music. It is the last of three operatic treatments of Goldoni's comedy, which was earlier made into operas by Baldassare Gallupi and Giovanni Paisiello.

Answer: Monostatos

Monostatos is consumed with desire for the beautiful and virtuous Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night. In Act II, scene 3, he comes upon Pamina while she is asleep. In the comic aria "Alles fühlt der Liebe Freuden", he sings of his delight at this cherished opportunity, and admonishes the watching moon to hide its gaze ("Mond, verstecke dich dazu!").

He is surprised by the sudden appearance of the Queen, who orders him away from her daughter.

Answer: The cutting of the sacred mistletoe.

The scene takes place in a grove dominated by an oak tree sacred to the goddess. At the rising of the moon, Norma ceremoniously cuts the mistletoe which grows on this oak before singing her great aria; unbeknownst to her followers, she has violated her vow of chastity with the Roman official Pollione, to whom she has borne two children.

In a cabaletta following "Casta Diva", Norma sings of her love for Pollione ("Ah, bella a me ritorno"), who has abandoned her for the young vestal virgin Adalgisa

Answer: Don Pasquale

The title character of this classic comic opera is a wealthy, but foolish elderly bachelor. Disapproving of his nephew Ernesto's engagement to a penniless young widow, Norina, Don Pasquale decides to get married himself and produce a new heir. His physician Dr. Malatesta arranges a marriage with his virginal, convent-bred sister. Unbeknownst to Pasquale, however, Malatesta is in league with the young lovers, and the "sister" is actually Norina disguised. Immediately after the "marriage" (by a fake notary), the timid bride abruptly turns into a domineering shrew who redecorates Pasquale's home, orders jewels, a coach, and a fleet of servants. The final straw comes when Pasquale finds a letter arranging a romantic tryst with another man. He conspires with Malatesta to surprise the guilty pair, but the tables are turned when the conspirators reveal to Pasquale how he has been duped. Realizing that he has behaved foolishly, Pasquale renounces his ideas of marriage and gives his blessing to Norina and Ernesto.

The delightful serenata "Come e' Gentil" occurs in the third act, when Ernesto serenades the waiting Norina. This piece (which is used in the Overture) was literally a "trunk tune", Donizetti is said to have brought the publisher Dormoy to his house after a rehearsal and, after digging through a box full of old manuscripts, presented him with this piece, which had been written some time earlier as a concert song. The piece was sung by the tenor Mario, with the lute accompaniment played by the great basso Luigi Lablache.

Answer: Meyerbeer's "Dinorah"

Dinorah loses her reason after being deserted by her betrothed, Hoel, who abandons her to search for a hidden treasure in the woods. The loss of her pet goat further unhinges her reason and (yes, I did say pet goat!), at the beginning of Act II, she is seen dancing among the moonlit birch trees, imagining that she is being pursued by her own shadow.

The coloratura showpiece "Ombre legere" ("Fleeting shadow") is the best-known piece from this opera, and has been a favorite of numerous coloratura sopranos, including Adelina Patti, Amelita Galli-Curci, and Joan Sutherland.

Answer: Alexander Dargomyzhsky

The legend of Rusalka, of which Anderson's "The Little Mermaid" is one of many versions, is indigenous to Russia and much of Eastern Europe, and is closely related to the German legend of Undine and the French legend of Melusine. Dargomyzhsky's "Rusalka" was written in 1856; although it has been eclipsed by Dvorak's version throughout much of the world, it has retained some popularity in Russia.

The role of the miller was a favorite of the great Russian basso Feodor Chaliapin (whose son and namesake, by the way, can be seen playing the grandfather in the film "Moonstruck") Dargomyzhsky's other operas include "The Stone Guest", based on the Don Juan legend which also furnished the plot of Mozart's "Don Giovanni", and "Esmeralda", whose plot is based on Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

Answer: Act I

The meeting of the star-crossed lovers Mimi and Rodolfo takes place in Act I, when the frail Mimi knocks at the poet Rodolfo's door to ask him to relight her candle, which has gone out. Exhausted from climbing the stairs, Mimi faints and drops her key.

After she revives, she and Rodolfo search for the key; during this search, both of their candles are snuffed out (Mimi's by a draft, Rodolfo's by himself). Groping in the darkness, Rodolfo (who had found the key earlier and pocketed it) grasps Mimi's hand and gently suggests that they abandon their search and, instead, have a talk by the light of the moon, in the aria "Che gelida manina". Act II ends with the passionate duet "O Soave Fanciulla", sung by the two lovers as the light of the moon floods the garret, illuminating Mimi's pale beauty (this duet was used extensively in the film). Arm in arm, they leave to join Rodolfo's friends at the Cafe Momus.

Answer: Werther

Based on Goethe's 1774 novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther", which had taken eighteenth century Germany by storm, Massenet's 1892 opera deals with the doomed passion of the ardent young poet for Charlotte, who had promised her dying mother to marry a solid young man named Albert.

In the achingly beautiful "Claire de Lune" duet in Act I ('Il faut nous séparer'), Werther tells Charlotte of his love for her, which she tries vainly to dissuade. They are interrupted by the arrival of Albert; Werther enjoins Charlotte to honor her oath, despite his love for her. Driven to despair over his love for Charlotte, which can never be consumated, Werther eventually commits suicide; the music of the "Claire de Lune" scene makes a reappearance in the final scene, as he dies in Charlotte's arms.

Answer: Turandot

In Act I of "Turandot", the bloodthirsty crowd clamoring for the death of the unlucky Prince of Persia suddenly turns quiet in anticipation of the moon's rising, at which the execution will take place. The beautiful chorus "Perche tarda e la luna?" reaches a grand climax, with the chorus calling for the imperial executioner, while an offstage children's chorus sings the traditional Chinese melody "Mo-li-hua" ("Jasmine Flower").