Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Wagner's "Ring" cycle consists of four separate operas, or music dramas, as Wagner liked to call them. Who wrote the words to the operas?
2. The eponymous nibelung (dwarf) of the title first appears in "Das Rheingold", the first opera of the cycle. What is his name?
3. Alberich sets the action in motion by his theft of gold from the Rhine maidens. How many Rhine maidens are there?
4. In "Das Rheingold", we also first meet Wotan, the king of the gods, who is missing a body part. Name the absent body part.
5. The home of the gods and heros spoken of in "Das Rheingold" is called what?
6. Without the help of his royal patron, Wagner could never have afforded to compose and mount the "Ring" cycle. Name Wagner's benefactor.
7. "Die Walkure" is the second opera in the cycle and by far the most popular. In the first act Siegmund and Sieglinde meet and fall in love. What is strange about their relationship?
8. One complication to Siegmund and Sieglinde's relationship is Sieglinde's husband, Hunding. How does Hunding meet his maker?
9. Also in "Die Walkure", we get to meet Brunnhilde, one of Wotan's many daughters and the female lead of the cycle. What is the name of the famous musical passage at the beginning of act three featuring Brunnhilde and her sisters?
10. At the end of "Die Walkure", Wotan punishes Brunnhilde for disobeying him. How does Wotan punish Brunnhilde?
11. The first performance of the complete "Ring" cycle took place at a specially built theater in what Bavarian town?
12. The next opera in the cycle, "Siegfried", introduces the title character. He was raised in the forest by Mime, a nibelung with a severe personality disorder. Who is Siegfried's father?
13. In the second act of "Siegfried", there is a deadly encounter between Siegfried and Fafner. Fafner is a giant who has transformed himself into what creature?
14. Siegfried tastes Fafner's blood after killing him. This enables Siegfried to do what?
15. Siegfried first sees Brunnhilde in the last scene of the opera. After taking off her armor, what does he say to himself?
16. A work as massive and complex as the "Ring" is not written overnight. Approximately how long did it take Wagner to write the "Ring"?
17. "Gotterdammerung" is the last opera in the "Ring" cycle. The first scene features three sisters weaving the rope of fate. What are these ladies better known as?
18. Brunnhilde is tricked into believing that Siegfried is unfaithful to her. Which two characters are behind this treachery?
19. In the last scene of the opera Brunnhilde calls for her horse. What is her horse's name?
20. After summoning her horse, Brunnhilde, who is distraught over the death of Siegfried, rides into his funeral pyre. This precipitates the destruction and rebirth of the world. What is this scene better known as?
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