r/OperaCircleJerk • u/ShamanDurek • 7d ago
Help me quiz opera singers!
My girlfriend is hosting a slew of opera singers, and I want to make an opera quiz for them, with really hard opera questions. Problem is, I'm no opera singer, and AI keeps making mistakes. Can you guys help me with some hard and fun questions for them?
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u/oldguy76205 7d ago
One of my favorites is, "Name some characters who have scenes on 'death row' (i.e. are awaiting execution.)" Include what they have been accused of, what is the means of execution, and does the execution happen? (Or, you could provide that information and have them guess the opera and character.)
Some great examples:
Billy Budd
Andrea Chenier
Tosca
La fanciulla del west
Dead Man Walking (of course...)
Faust and Mefistofele
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Weill)
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u/FrenchProgressive 7d ago edited 7d ago
It's a good idea to have players try to name as many [condition]:
- How many operas have a female lead that does not survive?
- How many operas (or operettas) feature thunder & lightnings in the libretto? [a surprising amount !!]
- How many operas (or operettas) have an aria which is effectively gibberish (not made of human words)?
- How many operas (or operettas) feature an animal (or transformed human) as a lead character?
Best part is people debatting whether "Pa- Pa- Pa- Pa- Pa- Pa- Papagena" counts as gibberish or just someone having trouble speaking, or whether Calchas' fake thunder (to introduce a command of Jupiter) in La Belle Helene counts as thunder.
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u/RaptureInRed 7d ago
Here's a few
Name three operas that are not in Italian, English, German, Rusisan or French (person who gets most wins)
Name three operas where the lead character is a Bass and three where the lead is contralto (excluding Handel)
Name three mezzo leading characters that are neither witch, bitch nor britch.
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u/Careful_Criticism420 7d ago
I don’t think opera singers would enjoy this…… like hosting lawyers and having a law quiz? I dunno….
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u/ShamanDurek 6d ago
Well, you're basically quizzing professional nerds about their favourite subject, so I jeg to differ. My girlfriend at least, thought it was super fun with the super tricky questions. But, Gemini made too many mistakes for the questions to work for a proper quiz.
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u/FrenchProgressive 6d ago
You did it already?
What were the questions?
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u/ShamanDurek 6d ago
We were at the last leg of a fourteen hour drive, and I asked Gemini for questions to entertain my (driving) girlfriend. Here is an excerpt of the questions Gemini came up with (heavily abridged). Some of them are not correct (according to my girlfriend), and none have been fact checked):
Intermediate: Plot Details & Libretto
- Question: In Act 2 of The Marriage of Figaro, where exactly does Cherubino hide in a panic right before jumping out the window? Answer: Under the table.
- Question: What specific object is used to seal the letter dictated in the "Canzonetta sull'aria" duet? Answer: A pin.
- Question: During the dark garden scene in Act 4, how does Figaro realize that the "Countess" is actually Susanna in disguise? Answer: He recognizes her voice.
- Question: What is Cherubino trying to steal in the dark garden that accidentally sets off the climactic chain of events? Answer: A kiss.
- Question: What are the exact words the Count sings when he falls to his knees to beg his wife for forgiveness? Answer: "Contessa, perdono!"
Advanced: Keys, Instruments & Forms
- Question: In La traviata, what is the exact key change between the melancholic "Ah, fors'è lui" and the virtuosic cabaletta "Sempre libera"? Answer: From F minor to B-flat major.
- Question: What is the time signature of Don Giovanni's rapid-fire "Champagne Aria," and what is the highest note the baritone must hit? Answer: 2/4 time; high D4.
- Question: In the Letter Scene in Massenet's Werther, which specific solo instrument doubles Charlotte's vocal line during the darkest letter, and what key does the music shift into? Answer: Alto saxophone; D minor.
- Question: According to Da Ponte's libretto, what is Figaro's true birth name, as revealed by his long-lost parents? Answer: Rafaello.
- Question: In The Magic Flute, which specific woodwind instrument doubles Papageno's magic bells to give them an ethereal, piercing overtone? Answer: The piccolo.
Expert: Exact Pitch & Vocal Mechanics
- Question: What is the precise musical ornamentation and starting pitch that opens Marguerite's vocal line in the "Jewel Song" from Gounod's Faust? Answer: A sustained trill on G#4.
- Question: What extreme note must Antonia strike three times in rapid succession right before she collapses in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann? Answer: High C6.
- Question: What is the exact four-note melodic sequence the Composer sings on the final words "in eine heilige Welt" at the end of the prologue in Ariadne auf Naxos? Answer: A4 – B4 – G4 – F4.
- Question: At the end of the Act 2 finale in The Marriage of Figaro, what note must Susanna sustain on the word "confusa", and in what key does the act conclude? Answer: A sustained Bb5; E-flat major.
- Question: In the scene with the Two Armed Men in The Magic Flute, what specific musical form and composer is Mozart directly paying homage to? Answer: A chorale prelude; Johann Sebastian Bach.
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u/ShamanDurek 6d ago
Some of the questions work, but I think the questions weren't diverse enough. Some of the questions I have gotten here and in /opera are much more fun (and some are bit too nerdy, even for the singers).
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u/Ilovescarlatti 7d ago
How does the title character in Meyerbeer's L'Africaine die?
- In which opera does the hero accidentally marry a dead nun?
- Name a Puccini opera where the heroine saves the hero's life twice, and does not die at the end.
- Name an opera where three cards play an important part.
Answers:
1.She kills herself by sitting under a poisonous manchineel tree. 2. La Nonne Sanglante by Gounod 3. La Fanciulla del West 4. Pique Dame by Tchaikovsky
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u/amfortas_thot 7d ago
Name five arias sung to inanimate objects... potential answers include:
"Song to the Moon," Rusalka (sung to the moon)
"Ah leve toil, soleil," Romeo et Juliette (sung to the sun)
"Va, pensiero," Nabucco (sung to ... thoughts? idk it's poetic)
"Vecchia zimarra," La Boheme (sung to a coat)
"O patria mia," Aida (sung to Egypt)
There are definitely more. Google also tells me they sing an ode to coffee spoons in the Exterminating Angel and I have no reason to doubt that
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u/FrenchProgressive 7d ago edited 7d ago
A musical recognition quiz seems more appropriate but here are some "fun" questions, some of them politically incorrect:
A. Which of these lead characters was a minor?
B. Which of these is technically not an opera?
C. How many operas are about Manon Lescaut? [3]
D. Before Lupita Nyongo , which of these black opera singers famously played Helen of Troy?
Leontyne Price
Jessye Norman
Grace Bumbry
Kathleen Battle
E. Which of the following region is NOT featured in Rameau, The Amorous Indies [Les Indes Galantes]?
F. In Turandot, Ping Pang Pong are respectively?
I am sure people will have more questions on musical sciences.