Operatic History - the Sixteenth Century Quiz

Answer: Alfonso d'Albuquerque

Benedict (1804-1885) was born in Stuttgart (Germany) and died in London. He composed six operas and two operettas.
D'Albuquerque (1453-1515) was the first leader of the important colony of Goa. The others are no Portuguese colonists, but Italian and Spanish adventurers. By the way, the first Archbishop of Goa was another member of the d'Albuquerque family: Joao Alfonso was prelate of Goa from 1538 until 1553.
Vespucci (1451-1512) was an Italian who proved that Columbus had found a new continent, and not an already known country. In honour of Vespucci a German cartographer named the continent after Vespucci's Christian name.
Pigafetta (1491-1534) was an Italian who sailed with Magellan. He was one of the eighteen survivors of this first trip around the world, completed by Elcano.
Pizarro (about 1471-1541) was a Spanish conquistador. He conquered the Inca Empire in 1532 and founded the city of Lima in 1535.

Answer: Lucrezia Borgia

Donizetti (1797-1848) was a prolific Italian composer, who created at least seventy operas. His best known works are "L'Elisir d'Amore" ("The Love Potion") and "Lucia di Lammermoor" ("Lucia of Lammermoor").
Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519) was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and distant relative of Pope Callist III. After several betrothals and two (or three?) brief marriages, she was married to Alfonso d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara. In this quality, she took it upon herself to sponsor some artists.
Catharine de Medici (1519-1589) was also related to two Popes. The Medici family provided the Popes Leo X and Clement VII. Catharine married King Henry II of France and continued after his death to manipulate French politics.
Elisabeth Farnese (1692-1766) had only one Pope in her family: Pope Paul III. Elisabeth became Queen of Spain.
Katharina von Bora (1499-1552) had no papal relatives. She was a German nun who entered history books as the wife of Martin Luther (1483-1546).

Answer: Cortez

Spontini (1774-1851) was an Italian composer, who created nine operas.
Zingarelli (1752-1837) was also an Italian composer, who left us about 35 operas. However, www.operone.de lists only five of these compositions.
Ferdinand Cortez (1485-1547) was also known as Hernan, Hernando or Ferdinando. He landed in Mexico in 1519 and subdued the Aztecs in only two years. There is an element of superstition in this conquest: the Aztecs believed their god Quetzalcoatl would enter the country from the East, dressed as a white man with a beard, on exactly the date Cortez (a bearded European) arrived. However, it is quite clear that Cortez subdued the Aztecs because of the better equipment of his army and his policy of "divide and rule".

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

Hamerik (1898-1951) was a Danish composer. He completed six operas.
Da Vinci's masterpieces include the fresco of "The Last Supper" near Milan, and the "Mona Lisa". This latter painting is unscathed, whereas "The Last Supper" is almost completely ruined due to the experimental techniques Da Vinci used. Da Vinci lived from 1452 until 1519 and inspired Dan Brown for his "The Da Vinci Code".
Bernini (1598-1680) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Several of his famous sculptures lead the way through Rome in Dan Brown's novel "Angels and Demons". Bernini also left us several paintings and some rhyming comedies.
Raphael (1483-1529), as we know Raphaello Santi, was a prolific Italian painter. In spite of his rather short lifespan, he would have left over 1200 paintings.
Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi (1386-1466) is better known by the name Donatello. He was an Italian sculptor. His masterpiece, the "Gattamelata", is an equestrian statue of an Italian warrior. His version of "David" is also one of the classic Renaissance statues.

Answer: Leiden

Meyerbeer (1791-1864) was a German composer, who worked mostly in France. He left us sixteen compositions for stage music. His masterpiece is "L'Africaine" with the famous tenor aria "O Paradis".
Jan Beuckelszoon (1509-1536) came from Leiden. His full name is by the way "Jan Beuckelszoon van Leiden". He was a gifted orator. In fact, the Dutch language has an expression named after him: a "jantje-van-leiden" (in which "jantje" means "Little John") is an elaborate excuse.

Answer: Thomas More

Jaeggi (1913-1963) was a Swiss composer. He completed two operas.
Thomas More (born in 1477 or 1478 - died 1535) was Chancellor to King Henry VIII from 1529 until 1532. He quarrelled with Henry over Henry's religious reforms. Thomas especially deplored Henry's position as head of the Anglican Church. This quarrel led to Thomas' dismissal and, a few years later, Thomas was executed for treason.
Thomas was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church in 1935. His name day is celebrated on June 22nd.

Answer: False

Henry VIII (1491-1547) was married in turn to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. Two of his wives were beheaded for "treason" (and adultery): Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
The French composer Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) dedicated an opera to Henry VIII. The first night of this opera was in 1883.
The English composer Henry Litolff (1818-1891) created in 1847 an opera on the life of Catherine Howard.
And the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) completed in 1830 an opera by the name "Anna Bolena" ("Anne Boleyn").

Answer: Sweden

Marchetti (1831-1902) was an Italian composer who left us two operas and five lyrical dramas. His best known work is the drama "Ruy Blas" (1869).
Gustav Vasa (1496-1560) founded a dynasty that ruled Sweden until 1654. His family also provided the Polish kings from 1587 until 1668.
In 1523, Spain was governed by King Charles I (1500-1558). This same man ruled the Holy Roman Empire (Central Europe and Northern Italy) under the name Charles V.
The French opponent of Charles V was King Francis I (1494-1547), who ascended the throne in 1515 - the year before Charles became King of Spain. These two monarchs had almost constantly arguments and skirmishes.
Russia was in 1523 not yet a political unity. There were several monarchs who ruled only one city. The most important Russian cities were Moscow and Kiev (nowadays situated in Ukraine). Grand Duke Basil III (1505-1533) ruled over Moscow in 1523.

Answer: Michelangelo Buonarroti

Alfred Mendelssohn (1910-1966) was a Czech composer. He completed four operas, one operetta and two ballets. I haven't found any proof that he was related to the famous Austrian composer Felix Mendelssohn.
Michelangelo (1475-1564) would like to be remembered only by his sculptures, among which his masterpieces the "David" and the "Pieta".
But the Sistine Chapel proves that his talents included painting also. The Sistine Chapel displays two magnificent frescos by Michelangelo: "Genesis" (the ceiling) and "The Last Judgement" (the altar wall).
Michelangelo also worked as an architect, for example for the Dome of Saint Peter's Church at Rome (at the request of Pope Paul III).

Answer: Suleiman I

Galuppi (1706-1785) was a prolific Italian composer living near Venice. He completed over ninety original compositions (this means, without revised editions).
Osman I founded the Ottoman Empire around 1300.
Mehmed II (1432-1481) was the sultan who conquered Byzantium in 1453. He then made this city the capital of his sultanate.
Mehmed IV (1642-1692 or 1693) was one of the last Ottoman sultans to advance in Europe. He besieged Vienna in 1683, but was routed by the Polish King Jan III Sobieski (1629-1696) and Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Suleiman I (1494-1566) conquered Hungary in 1529. In the Western world he is nicknamed Suleiman the Magnificent, for his patronage of poets, painters and other artists. The Arabic world knows him as Suleiman the Lawgiver: he codified most legal questions in which the Islamic law, the Shari'ah, does not provide for a solution.

Answer: Lamoral of Egmont

Meulemans (1884-1966) was a Belgian composer. He created one opera, one lyrical drama and one lyrical tragedy, as well as incidental music for theatre plays.
Alva (1507-1582) governed the Netherlands until 1573. Donizetti (1797-1848) named an opera after him. The harsh measures taken by Alva led to the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) and eventually the Dutch independence.
Egmont (1522-1568) was one of the first nobles to condemn Alva's tyranny. Most of his fellow rebels fled the country, but Egmont reckoned Alva would not have him executed. After all, Egmont was an important noble who had accomplished many victories for King Charles V, and he claimed not to have broken any law. Alas, Egmont had gambled in vain.
Brederode (1531-1568) and Marnix (1540-1598) were also vivid opponents to Alva. They joined William the Silent in exile in 1568. Marnix is claimed to have written the lyrics of the Dutch national anthem "Wilhelmus".
Berlaymont (1510-1578) was one of the prominent local nobles who supported the Governor. The building in Brussels which houses the European Commission was probably named after him.

Answer: Peter Brueghel the Elder

Absil (1893-1974) was a Belgian composer. He composed two radio plays, one opera, one fairy tale in music, one lyrical comedy and three ballets.
Quellin (1609-1668) and his nephew Artus Quellin the Younger were famous sculptors, no painters. They came from Antwerp.
Peter Pourbus (1510-1584), his son Francis the Elder and his grandson Francis the Younger were notorious portraitists near Bruges.
Rubens (1577-1640) is of course the best known of these artists. This greatest Belgian painter lived mostly in Antwerp. There is no immediate relative of Rubens who took up painting. Rubens also performed several diplomatic missions.
Peter Brueghel the Elder (1525-1569), his eldest son Peter Brueghel the Younger and his youngest son John had all quite different styles in painting. Peter the Younger depicted many scenes from Hell and was therefore nicknamed "The Infernal Brueghel". John specialised in quiet landscapes and floral ornaments.

Answer: Benvenuto Cellini

Berlioz (1803-1869) was a French composer who preferred dramatic music. He created four operas and one lyrical drama - the latter being his masterpiece: "La Damnation de Faust" ("The Damnation of Faust").
Cellini (1500-1571) was an Italian sculptor and goldsmith. His most famous sculpture depicts the Greek hero Perseus after he has beheaded Medusa. Cellini's best known masterpiece is probably a salt cellar made entirely of pure gold created for the French King Francis I.
The other options I gave are Spanish painters: Velazquez (1599-1660), Goya (1746-1828) and El Greco (born as Theotokopoulos between 1541 and 1550 - died 1614).

Answer: Lepanto

Lapetra (1805-1861) was a Spanish composer. According to the website "Historia de la Opera" (http://tejodiaz.tripod.com/archivos/compositor.pdf) he completed seven operas.
There were naval battles near Salamis (480 BC, between Persians and Athenians), near Actium (31 BC, between the Romans Octavian and Mark Anthony) and near Lepanto (1571 AD, between the Turks on the one hand and the Holy Alliance on the other hand - a coalition of Venice, Genoa, the Papal States, Savoy and Spain).
By the way, there were also naval battles near Lepanto in 429 BC, in 1499 AD and in 1500 AD. Both in 1499 and in 1500 the Turkish fleet defeated the Venetians.
In the battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Turkish fleet and the Holy Alliance had almost the same number of galleys. However, the Holy Alliance disposed also of six galleasses - a type of galley that was better equipped. This advantage and Don Juan's strategy was the key to the victory of the Holy Alliance. The Alliance lost 50 ships, whereas the Turks lost 210.
Cape Misenum is not a Greek village, nor the scene of any naval battle. It was the most important war harbour near Naples during the Roman Empire.

Answer: Huguenots

Meyerbeer (1791-1864) was a romantic German composer, mostly active in France.
The Huguenots were Lutherans as well as Calvinists, with perhaps a slight preponderance of Lutheran doctrine. They got their organisation from Calvinists - a type of Protestantism that arose in Switzerland. The name "Huguenot" may be a corruption of the German word "Eidgenosse" (literally "conjuror"), which was what the Swiss people called themselves. To use the word of a nationality for a religion is certainly odd, but there are other examples (for instance "Judaism").
Saint Bartholomew's Night occurred at the end of the celebration of the marriage between Henry of Navarre (later king Henry IV of France), one of the most important Huguenots, with Margot, daughter of the Catholic dynasty. This explains why Paris counted many Roman Catholics and Huguenots together, just before the civil war between those parties would raise again. During Saint-Bartholomew's night, at least 1,000 Huguenots were killed in Paris.

Answer: Nuremberg

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) composed some twenty operas, each based on a libretto he wrote himself.
The opera I refer to is "Die Meistersänger von Nürnberg" ("The Master Singers of Nuremberg") and was completed in 1868.
By the way, Albert Lortzing (1801-1851) also dedicated an eponymous opera to Hans Sachs.
Nuremberg is a Bavarian city, where the Nazi party organized its enormous rallies. (Leni Riefenstahl made a well known film of the 1934 rally). After World War II, this city was chosen for the famous war tribunal against Nazi Germany.

Munich, another Bavarian city, was the location of Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923.

Berlin is of course the German capital, which also served as capital during Hitler's reign.

Frankfurt is a German city that has no evident link with Nazism. It is today the financial centre of Germany (and location of the European Central Bank).

Answer: William the Silent

Heinrich Hoffman (1842-1902) was a German composer who left us five operas and one operetta.

When the Eighty Years' War started, a number of Dutch nobles tried to get rid of the Spanish troops. The leader of these rebels was William the Silent (1533-1584), Roman Catholic but later converted to Protestant.

Balthasar Gerard (born 1558) killed William of Orange in 1584. Balthasar was then executed by an enraged mob.
After William's death, Van Oldenbarneveldt (1547-1619) led the Dutch revolt for more than thirty years. When religious differences arose between several factions in the Dutch leading circles,

Oldenbarneveldt chose the party that eventually lost the internal struggle. Oldenbarneveldt was arrested, convicted of treason (although without any shred of evidence) and beheaded.

Cornelis de Witt (1623-1672) and his brother Johan influenced Dutch politics only after the end of the Eighty Years' War. They were lynched in 1672 as supporters of the French cause (and this at a time France was preparing to invade the Netherlands).

Answer: Iwan IV

Bizet (1838-1875), a French composer, became world famous with his operas "Les pêcheurs de perles" ("The Pearl Fishermen") and "Carmen". In total, Bizet completed ten operas and three operettas.
Ivan IV (1530-1584) took the title "Czar of all Russians" in 1547. His nickname Ivan Grozny is not adequately translated in English as "Ivan the Terrible". In fact, the Russian word "grozny" is not easy to translate. The best description of "Grozny" would be "He that inspires fear and respect".
Ivan left a confession that he had ordered the death of 3.470 people. In those restless times, most sovereigns might have commanded more executions than merely 3,470. Even in recent history, we can name some examples of more "terrible" commanders of mass execution.

Answer: Torquato Tasso

Donizetti (1797-1848) was an Italian composer.
Torquato Tasso (1544-1595) is the author we're looking for. He wrote the epic poem "Gerusalemme Liberata" ("Jerusalem Delivered") inspired by the First Crusade. Some of his characters include Rinaldo (subject of Händel's opera) and Tancred, who inspired Monteverdi.
Vondel (1587-1679) wrote rimed theatre plays. His masterpiece is "Lucifer", in which he treats the struggle between angels and demons.
Pushkin (1799-1837) was a Russian novelist. His works are based on the Russian history. He died in a duel in 1838. Pushkin's masterpieces inspired two operas: the drama "Boris Godunov" became an opera by Modest Mussorgski (1839-1881), and Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed the lyrics for an opera based upon Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin".
Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170-1230) was a German lyric poet.

Answer: Giordano Bruno

Kartes (born in 1935) is a Chilean composer, having completed up till now four operas and two ballets.
Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) was an Italian scientist. He was never convicted of heresy, although the Catholic Church did reject some of his statements.
Savonarola (1452-1498) was a fierce orator in Florence. He admonished the clergy to re-adopt a sober lifestyle and supported the French king Charles VIII when this latter started war in Italy. Both these acts were very annoying for Pope Alexander VI. Therefore Savonarola was excommunicated and eventually burnt at the stake.
Roncalli (1881-1963) is better known as Pope John XXIII. He died of natural causes.
Bruno (1548-1600) was a Dominican friar. After having been excommunicated by both Calvinists and Lutherans, he was convicted by the Roman-Catholic Church as a heretic and thus burnt at the stake. Apparently his theological ideas did not fit into any of the major Christian religions in continental Western Europe at that time... Indeed, Bruno believed that there are several parallel worlds. This theory is very hard to grasp, especially for people living in the Sixteenth Century.

Sources for this quiz include: "World History" by Carl Grimberg, "7000 Years of World History" edited by Christoph Columbus Verlag AG, "Verschueren Groot Encyclopedisch Woordenboek", "Phaëton's Great Opera Book", "Le Petit Larousse", the Encarta Encyclopedia on CD-ROM, www.operone.de, www.Naxos.com, the Catholic Encyclopedia (www.newadvent.org/cathen) and Wikipedia (http:/en.wikipedia.org).