1. Which of these Russian operas is not based on historical events? The Queen of Spades Boris Godunov Prince Igor Khovanschina

2. Borodin wrote "Prince Igor" in his free time from his regular job. What was his regular job? (Hint: He was a bit of an elemental force.) Chemistry Professor Bank Officer Patent Clerk Music Teacher

3. In "The Queen of Spades", what was the secret that Lisa?s grandmother had that German (Herman) wanted? How to turn base metal into gold True love Immortality Three cards that allowed one always to win at gambling

4. In "Boris Godunov", what is the assumption that shapes the story of the opera? That Boris is the true son of his predecessor, Ivan the Terrible That Boris is guilty of the murder of Prince Dmitri, son of Ivan the Terrible That Marina Mnishek is the proper heiress to the Russian throne That Prince Shuisky is guilty of the murder of Fyodor, son of Boris

5. In "Prince Igor", what is Igor?s main dilemma in escaping from the camp of Khan Konchak? How to escape from his physical prison Whether it is ethical for him to escape when he is an honoured guest of the Khan How to escape without incurring the wrath of the Khan?s daughter, who was infatuated with him How to plausibly stay in captivity to avoid returning to his wife

6. Although the opera "Khovanschina" by Mussorgsky is little-known, one bit of it is frequently heard. What is this bit? An instrumental interlude, known as ?Night on Bald Mountain? The overture, known as ?Daybreak on the Moskva River? The Songs and Dances of Death A processional known as ?March Slav?

7. Mussorgsky added the ?Polish Scene?, featuring the Polish noblewoman Marina Mnishek, to "Boris Godunov" after the main work was completed. Why did he do this? It was an opportunity to put in a ballet, at the Polish ball, which would be popular with the audience He wanted to further develop the character of the False Dmitri, who figures prominently in the Polish scene The opera was too short; Russian audiences demanded a full three hours The censors would not allow it to be performed as it was because there was no female lead

8. If "Boris Godunov" is performed with the last two scenes in the order that Mussorgsky intended (that is, with the Death of Boris first and the Kromy forest scene after,) who has the last word in the opera? Marina Mnishek the Monk Varlaam the False Dmitri The Holy Fool

9. Glinka wrote an opera called ?A Life for the Tsar?, which is full of rousing Russian choruses of the sort that can be played at major sporting events to get people fired up about how great and glorious it is to be Russian. Unfortunately for the Soviets, the subject of the opera is the ascension to the throne of the first Romanov, Mikhail, and the glorious times that promised to follow. (For those of you that don?t know, the communist revolution deposed the Romanov dynasty.) Faced with the dilemma of good, rousing, patriotic music couched in an opera with an uncomfortable subject, they decided to change the name rather than get rid of the opera. So during the Soviet era, Glinka?s ?A Life for the Tsar? became?? A Life for the People The Rise and Subsequent Deserved Fall of the Romanov Dynasty Glory to the October Revolution Ivan Susanin

10. At the end of "Prince Igor", two men see his arrival from afar and ring the bells in the church tower to announce his arrival. Why do they do this? To let the townspeople know that their danger is lessened now that the Prince and general has returned To keep themselves out of trouble Because Yaroslavna tells them to They always ring the bells at that hour, it was a coincidence that the Prince returned at this time