Operatic Medieval History: I

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1. Gaetano Donizetti named an opera he completed in 1836, after one of the most successful Byzantine generals. This general was born in 504 and died in 565. He conquered North Africa and much of Italy (including Ravenna). Who was this general, employed by Emperor Justinianus I? Petrus Sabbatius Belisarius Johannes Klimakos Maxim Stroganov

2. In 1864 Auguste Mermet completed an opera about one of Charlemagne’s bravest vassals. While the main army retreated, this vassal guarded a mountain pass near the Spanish city Roncevalles. When the Muslim army attacked, he only blew his horn to call for help as soon as he was seriously wounded. Charlemagne returned to chase away the Muslim army, but his brave vassal succumbed before Charlemagne’s arrival. Who was this much commemorated vassal? Answer: (One word – song)

3. The Italian composer Vincenzo Manfredini created in 1763 an opera named after one of the most powerful monarchs of the 8th century. This Frankish sovereign was crowned Emperor in Rome on Christmas Day, 800. Who was this emperor, who died in 814? Eric the Red Haroen al-Rasjid Charlemagne Egbert

4. Albert Grisar composed an opera by the name of “L’an mil” (“The Year One Thousand”) in 1837. A few medieval people were unnerved by the approach of a certain year, but it wasn’t the year 1000. Which year was it then that frightened them? 1066 999 1033 1013

5. Gian Francesco Malipiero named an opera after an Italian city where the German Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII met. This episode in the Investiture Controversy symbolised the submission of worldly powers to religious powers. It became almost proverbial. What was this city in northern Italy that gave its name to Malipiero’s opera of 1914? Canossa Correggio Novellara Reggio nell’Emilia

6. 1911 saw the first night of Mascagni’s opera “Isabeau”. This opera tells the story of a historical person who protested in an original way against high taxation. By what name do we know the main character of this opera? Lady Charlatan Lady Godiva Lady Fanny Lady Melvil

7. One of Giuseppe Verdi’s early operas has the First Crusade as its historical setting. Which tribe did Verdi name his 1843 opera after? Sicilians Lombards Savoyards Venetians

8. In 1885, Jules Massenet completed an opera named after Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar. This Spanish nobleman is better known by the nickname the Moors gave to him. What is this nickname, which is also the title of Massenet’s opera? You may answer in French or in Spanish (the orthography differs only very slightly). Answer: (Two Words – Not “Campeador”.)

9. Nicholas Bochsa composed in 1814 an opera about a certain Alfonso I. He ruled one of the Spanish kingdoms around 1100. Which kingdom was it? Navarre Andalusia Castile Aragon

10. Henry Litolff completed in 1872 an opera named after a famous medieval pair of lovers. The male partner was a forty-year-old teacher of theology. The woman he fell in love with was one of his most brilliant students, about twenty years old. She became pregnant by him and gave birth to a son called Astrolabe. When her uncle found out about the love affair, he had the culprit castrated. Who are the names of these lovers? Stephen and Mathilda Baldwin and Judith Abelard and Heloise Tristan and Isolde

11. Jean-Claude Gillier composed in 1731 an opera about the first king of Sicily. In 1130, Roger II united the island of Sicily with the Duchy of Apulia and the region of Campania. To which people did Roger’s ancestors belong? Vikings French Spanish Byzantine

12. The year 1958 saw the first night of Pizzetti’s opera “Assassinio nella Cattedrale” (“Murder in the Cathedral”). Who was killed in 1170 at the Canterbury Cathedral? Thomas of Celano Thomas Aquinas Thomas Becket Thomas a Kempis

13. One of Verdi’s more obscure operas is named after a battlefield near Milan, where the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa was defeated in 1176 by the League of Lombardy. This opera (created in 1849) bears the title of “La Battaglia di _____________” (“The Battle of ___________”). Fill in the name of the battlefield. Magenta Legnano Solferino Gorgonzola

14. In 1823, Carl Maria von Weber named an opera “Euryanthe” after Euryanthe of Savoye. According to an ancient French story, she was betrothed to Adolar, the Count of Nevers, but Lysiart, Count of Forest fell in love with her. The opera is set somewhere between 1108 and 1137. Who was at that time the French King? One of the secondary characters in the opera is this French King. Charles III the Simple Philip IV the Fair Robert II the Pious Louis VI the Fat

15. André Grétry completed in 1784 an opera named after an English king who took part in the Third Crusade. Who was this king? William II Rufus Henry IV Bolingbroke Edward III Richard I Lion Heart