The Wonderful World of Opera Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gioachino Rossini

This opera takes place in Austrian-occupied Switzerland, the protagonist being a leading member of the resistance movement. Tell is arrested along with his son and is famously obliged to shoot an apple from his son's head. The story ends with the celebration of the country's independence. The opera's overture is well known for being the theme music for the TV series 'The Lone Ranger'.

Answer: Gilda

Rigoletto is the hunchbacked court jester to the womanising Duke of Mantua whom he assists in his amorous exploits, thus bringing upon himself the curse of the cuckolded Count Ceprano. Unbeknown to Rigoletto, the Duke in disguise has wooed his daughter Gilda who thinks he is a young student and duly falls in love with him.

After much intrigue and mistaken identity, during which Rigoletto plans to murder the Duke, it finally transpires that it is Gilda who dies. The most well known aria of this opera is the Duke's 'La donna č mobile' (Woman is fickle).

Answer: Richard Wagner

Tristan and Isolde are the principal characters in a famous medieval romance based on a Celtic legend. Isolde is an Irish princess being taken against her will aboard Tristan's ship to Cornwall to marry his uncle, King Marke. Isolde, who is proficient in herbs and magic, instructs her companion Brangäne to prepare a death potion ostensibly destined for Tristan. Tristan and Isolde both drink the potion, but Brangäne instead has mixed a love potion, with the result that they both fall instantly in love with each other.

This however does not save them from the ultimate tragic dénouement in which they both die.

Answer: Walter Scott

This opera is based on Walter Scott's historical novel 'The Bride of Lammermoor'. Lucia Ashton has long been in love with Edgardo, Laird of Ravenswood, who is the sworn enemy of her brother Enrico. The couple exchange rings just as Edgardo is about to leave for France to support the Stuart cause.

In the meantime, Enrico arranges for Lucia to marry Arturo Bucklaw and forges a letter purporting to prove Edgardo's infidelity. At the wedding, the latter returns just after Lucia signs the marriage contract with Arturo. Lucia descends into madness, kills Arturo and goes into a steep physical decline.

When Edgardo learns that she has actually died, he stabs himself.

Answer: Bedřich Smetana

'The Bartered Bride' is a comic opera by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. It too deals with the subject of an arranged marriage - this one between Mařenka and Vasek - but of course Mařenka is already in love with someone else called Jeník.

After a fair amount of confusion and intrigue, much of it orchestrated by the marriage broker Kecal who is trying to profit from the deal, the marriage of the lovers is blessed and no-one gets killed.

Answer: Bat

'Die Fledermaus' is a comic operetta. There are in fact no animals in the storyline and the title alludes to a previous episode in which Dr Falke attended a costume party dressed as a bat. He became very inebriated and his friend Gabriel von Eisenstein abandoned him in the town centre to the ridicule of all. Now Falke is trying to get his revenge by getting Eisenstein invited to Prince Orlofsky's ball, where he intends to turn the tables. Since it is a comic operetta, again no-one dies.

Answer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

This opera is based on the verse novel of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. It is another story about difficult relationships and was written at the time of Tchaikovsky's disastrous marriage to a former student. In it, Tatyana falls in love with Eugene and she writes him a letter, but he says he is unsuited to marriage and can only offer her affection.

She is very upset by this. Five years later, by which time Tatyana is married to Prince Gremin, they meet again and Eugene realizes that he does in fact love her after all.

She still has feelings for him, but is determined to be true to her marriage and so rejects his advances, leaving him in despair.

Answer: Freemasonry

'The Magic Flute' is an opera written in the style of a singspiel and as such contains both singing and spoken dialogue. Prince Tamino and Papageno have to traverse a variety of ordeals in their quest to rescue Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, from the high priest Sarastro.

The work is a masterpiece of illusion with a fascinating interplay of darkness and light in which nothing is quite as it seems. Mozart himself was a Freemason, as was his librettist and the printer of the first libretto.

The aria sung by the Queen of the Night is breathtaking.

Answer: China

Turandot is a beautiful but cruel Chinese princess. Any suitor who wishes to marry her must solve three riddles. If he fails, he will be beheaded. The Prince of Persia has just failed the test and duly meets that grisly fate. The Prince of Tartary is the next aspirant and he succeeds in solving all three riddles. Turandot somewhat reluctantly accepts his love and the crowd rejoices. One of the most famous arias in 'Turandot' is 'Nessun dorma' (Let no-one sleep) sung by the Prince.

Answer: Cigarette worker

Carmen is a beautiful gypsy who works in a cigarette factory in Seville. The story is one of passion and betrayal and involves gypsies, soldiers, smugglers and bullfighters. Carmen seduces a soldier who falls in love with her but ends up stabbing her to death when she takes up with the bullfighter Escamillo. The 'Habanera' and the 'Toreador Song' are two very well known pieces.