Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The Ring Cycle opens in the river Rhine as Alberich renounces love to win a lump of gold and the spell needed to transform it into a ring of power. Which of these is NOT one of the Rhinemaidens, whose task it was to guard the gold and who later appeal to Wotan for its return?
2. Scene 2 of Rheingold takes place on an open space in the mountaintops, and the stage quickly fills up with characters as the scene unfolds. Which of these represents the correct order in which the characters appear and deliver their first lines?
3. At the end of the Rheingold, Alberich has placed a terrible curse on the Ring, condemning all those who possess it to their deaths. The curse begins to work immediately as which character meets his end?
4. At the beginning of Die Walkuere, Siegmund desperately seeks refuge in the house of an enemy. Finding himself exhausted and defenseless, he appeals to his father, Waelse, who had promised him a sword in his hour of need. Through the sound code in Scene 2, Waelse is known to be who?
5. Having broken the bonds of marriage, not to mentioned entering into an incestuous relationship, Siegmund and Sieglinde flee Hunding's hut. Fricka is outraged and demands that Wotan allow Siegmund to die in the upcoming battle with Hunding. Wotan, dismayed, orders his Valkyrie daughter, Brunnhilde, not to protect Siegmund. However, after a face-to-face meeting with the condemned Volsung, Brunnhilde disobeys her father's orders and attempts to protect Siegmund. What is the main reason for her actions?
6. In the closing measures of Die Walkuere, which lietmotif, featured prominantly in Act 2 Scene 4, is interwoven with those of the sleeping Brunnhilde and the Magic Fire?
7. The prelude to Act 1 of Siegfried takes the listener on a journey through the mind of Mime, Alberich's brother, as he plots and schemes against Siegfried, who is now just a child being raised in the forest. When Mime delivers his opening lines, he expresses frustration at his inability to do what?
8. Siegfried triumphantly forges Notung anew and runs off into the forest to confront Fafner. Meanwhile, Wotan, disguised as the Wanderer, makes his way to Neidhoel', Fafner's lair in the forest. Who does he find lurking about?
9. Wotan's death occurs figuratively in Act 3 of the opera when Siegfried slices through the god's spear shaft with his sword. Wotan retreats and Siegfried is allowed to advance to Brunnhilde's rock and wake the mortal woman. They fall in love and begin, as Anna Russell notes, some "very competitive singing." Which of these motives is NOT introduced in the love duet between Siegfried and Brunnhilde in this last scene, but is instead introduced by Fricka?
10. The opening scene of Goetterdaemmerung features the three Norns, or spinners of fate. They speak of the past, present, and future, and predict the death of the gods (in case it wasn't already clear!) Like the Valkyries, the Norns are daughters of who?
11. Hagen's treachery is revealed to the listener in the first scene of Act 1 and is emphasized when Siegfried first enters the Gibichung Hall. What motive is heard in the orchestra when Hagen greets the hero?
12. After swearing an oath of blood-brotherhood with Gunther, Siegfried returns to the Valkyrie rock disguised as Gunther to woo Brunnhilde. Before he arrives, one of Brunnhilde's sisters, Waltraute, comes down to visit. She frantically explains that chaos has emerged in the realm of the gods. Which of these items is NOT among the pieces of news that she brings?
13. Hagen has revealed to the audience that he is the son of Alberich, the "Nibelung's Son." The Nibelung visits him in the night at the beginning of Act 2 and urges him to remain loyal, but doubts arise when Hagen insists, "_I_ will have the Ring." As Alberich finally disappears, day comes and Siegfried returns. Gutrune, however, is alarmed that Siegfried slept with Brunnhilde in the process of wooing her for Gunther. Siegfried defends himself by proclaiming that a certain item bore witness to his loyalty. What was that item?
14. In Act 3 of Goetterdaemmerung, all hell breaks loose. Gunther, Siegfried, and Hagen are all killed, and Brunnhilde famously rides her horse into Siegfried's blazing funeral pyre. As the hall collapses, the Rhinemaidens appear in the background, having reclaimed their Gold and drowning Hagen in the process. Valhalla blazes in the background as the music reduces to a single theme. What is the most common name of this final motive that closes out the entire cycle, heard earlier in Act 3 of Die Walkuere?
15. Looks like I got to the end one question early, so here's one to wrap up the whole quiz.
Whose last words are the following:
"Brünnhild' bietet mir - Gruss!"
Source: Author
Aitrus33
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
ralzzz before going online.
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