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A Prayer at the Opera Trivia Quiz

When everything is going badly, sometimes a prayer is all you have left. Or certainly that's often the case in opera. What do you know about a few operatic prayers, some of which were more successful than others?

A multiple-choice quiz by stedman. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
stedman

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
361,699

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
398

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In which nineteenth-century opera, based on a well-known fairy-tale, do two characters sing an "Evening Prayer" before lying down to sleep in a forest? Hint

Hansel and Gretel

Snow White

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Cinderella

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Question 2 of 10

2. "Why do you reward me thus?" asks Tosca in Puccini's opera of that name. What has she been asked to do, that causes her to complain to God about what she sees as his unjust treatment of her? Hint

Betray her lover to the secret police

Give up her illegitimate baby for adoption

Pose in the nude for a portrait by the painter Cavaradossi

Submit to the lustful advances of Baron Scarpia

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. In an opera by Wagner, the character of Elizabeth sings a prayer while waiting hopefully for the return from pilgrimage of the man whom she loves. What is the name of this sinful lover, also the opera's title character?

Hint

Siegfried

Tannhauser

Lohengrin

The Flying Dutchman

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Question 4 of 10

4. In Janacek's opera "Jenufa", the title character wakes up and sings a setting of the "Salve Regina" to pray for the protection of her baby. Ironically, while she has been asleep, what has happened to the baby? Hint

It has been eaten by wolves

It has choked to death on a toy

Her step-mother has drowned it

Gypsies have stolen it

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Question 5 of 10

5. Not all operatic prayers are offered to the Christian God. Which heroine of an opera by Bellini prays to the pagan goddess of the moon? Hint

Desdemona

Carmen

Boudicca

Norma

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Question 6 of 10

6. In Puccini's "La Boheme", the frivolous singer Musetta prays to the Virgin Mary to save the life of her consumptive friend, Mimi. Is her prayer successful - yes or no?

Yes

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Question 7 of 10

7. Gounod's opera "Faust" contains an aria sometimes known as "Valentin's Prayer". What does Valentin ask God to do? Hint

Protect him while he is fighting

Protect his sister Marguerite while he is away at war

Bring him luck in his forthcoming duel

Forgive him for fathering several illegitimate children

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. The opening of which opera by Verdi opens with a chorus of Israelites praying to their God for protection against the King of Babylon who is at that very moment attacking Jerusalem? Hint

Nabucco

Rigoletto

Aida

Don Carlos

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Question 9 of 10

9. The opera "Maria Stuarda" (Mary Stuart) tells of the relationship between Mary Queen of Scots and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England. In the final scene, Mary (with choral accompaniment) prays for God's mercy. Perhaps drawing on your knowledge of British history, why do you suppose she is doing this? Hint

She is about to be executed

Her lover has been sent into exile

She is about to have a baby

She has drunk poison to avoid an unsuitable marriage

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Question 10 of 10

10. In which opera by Mozart do the characters Don Ottavio, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira sing the trio "Protegga il giusto cielo", which roughly translates as "May just Heaven protect us"? Hint

Cosi fan Tutte

Don Giovanni

Idomeneo

La Clemenza di Tito

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In which nineteenth-century opera, based on a well-known fairy-tale, do two characters sing an "Evening Prayer" before lying down to sleep in a forest?

Answer: Hansel and Gretel

"Hansel and Gretel" was written by the German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921), and its premiere in 1893 was conducted by another composer, Richard Strauss. The "Evening Prayer" is sung by Hansel and Gretel after they have got lost on the forest, where they have been sent by their mother to pick strawberries.

In response to the prayer, 14 angels come to protect them while they sleep.

2. "Why do you reward me thus?" asks Tosca in Puccini's opera of that name. What has she been asked to do, that causes her to complain to God about what she sees as his unjust treatment of her?

Answer: Submit to the lustful advances of Baron Scarpia

In her famous aria "Vissi d'arte", Tosca prays to God, asking him why, when she has always served him well, he has apparently abandoned her. Scarpia, the Chief of Police, has given her an ultimatum - to submit to his advances, or see her lover, the artist Cavaradossi, shot by a firing squad.

This being a tragic opera, Tosca kills Scarpia rather than give in to him, only to see Cavaradossi shot anyway. She then rounds things off by throwing herself to her death off the castle walls.

Answer: Tannhauser

While taking part in a song contest, Tannhauser scandalises the assembled company by singing a song in praise of profane (rather than sacred) love. To show his regret, he goes on a pilgrimage to Rome to ask pardon of the Pope. Elizabeth, the symbol of the sacred love which he has rejected, prays while waiting for his return.

Answer: Her step-mother has drowned it

The step-mother does this because the baby is illegitimate, and she is afraid that as long as the baby lives no-one will want to marry Jenufa - ruining her life for ever in their small rural community. The opera was first performed in 1904, and was Janacek's first major success.

5. Not all operatic prayers are offered to the Christian God. Which heroine of an opera by Bellini prays to the pagan goddess of the moon?

Answer: Norma

The aria "Casta Diva", sung by the eponymous heroine, is the most famous number from the opera "Norma", and probably the best-known individual piece of Bellini's music. The opera was first performed in 1831 at La Scala, Milan, and during the twentieth century the title role became one of Maria Callas' most famous roles.

6. In Puccini's "La Boheme", the frivolous singer Musetta prays to the Virgin Mary to save the life of her consumptive friend, Mimi. Is her prayer successful - yes or no?

Answer: No

No, of course not. This is a Puccini opera, after all. Poor Mimi spends the whole of the last act of the opera expiring inexorably, having been reunited for a short time with the penniless poet Rodolfo, the man whom she really loves. The moral of the story is that love, unfortunately, doesn't pay the medical bills, and she expires as the curtain falls.

7. Gounod's opera "Faust" contains an aria sometimes known as "Valentin's Prayer". What does Valentin ask God to do?

Answer: Protect his sister Marguerite while he is away at war

This is yet another example of an operatic prayer that doesn't seem to do a great deal of good. Marguerite is seduced by Faust, has his illegitimate baby, and is condemned to death. At least she does end up ascending to heaven, borne thither by a chorus of angels. Valentin ends even less well; run through by Faust's sword, he dies cursing Marguerite, slightly unfairly blaming her for his death.

8. The opening of which opera by Verdi opens with a chorus of Israelites praying to their God for protection against the King of Babylon who is at that very moment attacking Jerusalem?

Answer: Nabucco

Nabucco (or Nebuchadnezzar) is the Babylonian king who gives his name to the opera. The opera ends in slightly unlikely fashion, with Nabucco announcing his conversion to Judaism and freeing the Israelites whom he has earlier enslaved. The opera, first performed in 1842 at La Scala Opera House in Milan, was Verdi's first big success.

Answer: She is about to be executed

"Maria Stuarda" is by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), and is based on a play by Friedrich Schiller. Both play and opera play fast and loose with historical fact, notably with the insertion of a dramatically crucial meeting between the two queens, although there is no historic evidence for this ever taking place.

She sings her prayer "Deh! Tu di un'umile preghiera il suono odi" ("All! May Thou hear the sound of our humble prayer") shortly before her execution, which certainly did take place.

10. In which opera by Mozart do the characters Don Ottavio, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira sing the trio "Protegga il giusto cielo", which roughly translates as "May just Heaven protect us"?

Answer: Don Giovanni

The three characters sing this beautiful trio before going in disguise to a party at the house of the rakish Don Giovanni. Don Ottavio and Donna Anna ask for Heaven to protect them; Donna Elvira (who has previously been abandoned by Giovanni) asks more specifically for the chance to get her revenge on him.

In the event, it is the young girl Zerlina who has a narrow escape from Don Giovanni's unwelcome advances.

Source: Author stedman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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This quiz is part of series Stedman's Opera Quizzes:

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