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Pushkin-Based Operas Trivia Quiz

Several of Alexander Pushkin's creations were turned into operas. Occasionally, these operas even eclipsed the books and plays they were based on. Do you know the differences between the plots of Pushkin's originals and their opera adaptations?

A multiple-choice quiz by AutumnLleaves. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
AutumnLleaves

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
403,572

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
85

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" does Olga marry another man after Lensky's death? Hint

In the opera

In neither book nor the opera

In both the book and the opera

In the book

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. In which version(s) of "The Queen of Spades" is Tomsky in love with Liza? Hint

In neither the book nor the opera

In the opera

In the book

In both the book and the opera

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" does Tatiana eventually marry an elderly man? Hint

In the opera

In both the book and the opera

In the book

In neither the book nor the opera

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. In which version(s) of "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" does Gvidon visit his father in the guise of an insect several times? Hint

In neither the book nor the opera

In the opera

In the book

In both the book and the opera

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" does Onegin reply to Tatiana's letter with a letter of his own? Hint

In both the book and the opera

In the book

In neither the book nor the opera

In the opera

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. In which version(s) of "The Queen of Spades" does Prince Yeletsky bet against the main character? Hint

In the book

In neither the book nor the opera

In both the book and the opera

In the opera

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. In which version(s) of "The Golden Cockerel" do the tsar's two sons kill each other? Hint

In neither the book nor the opera

In the book

In both the book and the opera

In the opera

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. In which version(s) of "Boris Godunov" is Marina advised by the Jesuit Rangoni? Hint

In the opera

In both the play and the opera

In the play

In neither the play nor the opera

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" was Tatiana's nurse married as a child to a much older man? Hint

In the book

In both the book and the opera

In the opera

In neither the book nor the opera

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. In which version of "Rusalka" does the main male character, a prince, have a little daughter? Hint

In both the play and the opera

In the play

In the opera

In neither the play nor the opera

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" does Olga marry another man after Lensky's death?

Answer: In the book

The opera doesn't elaborate on Olga's fate after Lensky's death in the duel. In the novel, she mourns Lensky for a while and then eventually gets happily married to an uhlan (a member of a light cavalry unit).

2. In which version(s) of "The Queen of Spades" is Tomsky in love with Liza?

Answer: In neither the book nor the opera

Count Tomsky never displays any romantic interest towards Liza. In the book, Hermann flirts with her to achieve his own goals and she later marries another, unnamed man. In the opera, she has two people deeply in love with her, but Tomsky isn't one of them.

3. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" does Tatiana eventually marry an elderly man?

Answer: In the opera

It's a popular misconception (shared, among others, by Dostoyevsky) that Tatiana's husband in the novel is elderly. In reality, the facts that 1) he and Onegin talk like friends and equals 2) the novel is set in the period right after the Napoleonic Wars, when many officers were promoted quite young, show that he isn't much older than Onegin and is in his thirties at most.

In the opera, however, he is clearly depicted as old.

4. In which version(s) of "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" does Gvidon visit his father in the guise of an insect several times?

Answer: In the book

In Pushkin's original story, Prince Gvidon secretly visits his father three times - as a mosquito (hearing the tale of the magical squirrel and stinging the cook), as a fly (hearing the tale of the thirty-three bogatyrs and stinging the weaver) and as a bumblebee (hearing the tale of the beautiful tsarevna and stinging Babarikha).

The opera combines the three visits into one - known for the famous "Flight of the Bumblebee" musical sequence.

5. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" does Onegin reply to Tatiana's letter with a letter of his own?

Answer: In neither the book nor the opera

In both the book and the opera, Onegin comes to speak to Tatiana in person after receiving her letter. The time when he writes her a letter of his own comes much later, when she is married and he realises he is now in love with her.

6. In which version(s) of "The Queen of Spades" does Prince Yeletsky bet against the main character?

Answer: In the opera

Prince Yeletsky doesn't bet against Hermann in the book for the simple reason that in the book, he doesn't exist. There is only a lady with the last name of Yeletskaya, and she is only mentioned in passing. Yeletsky was created for the opera's libretto as Herman's rival for Liza's love.

7. In which version(s) of "The Golden Cockerel" do the tsar's two sons kill each other?

Answer: In both the book and the opera

In both the book and the opera, the tsar's sons slay each other on the battlefield instead of fighting the enemy (the book implies, and the opera states outright, that they fought over the gorgeous Queen of Shemakha). It gets a little more foreshadowing in the opera, since they are shown bitterly squabbling right from the beginning.

8. In which version(s) of "Boris Godunov" is Marina advised by the Jesuit Rangoni?

Answer: In the opera

Although Claudio Rangoni is a historical figure (he was the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland from 1598 till 1606), he doesn't appear in Pushkin's play. He was only included in the second revision of Mussorgsky's opera, where he plans to convert Russia to Catholicism with Marina's help.

9. In which version(s) of "Eugene Onegin" was Tatiana's nurse married as a child to a much older man?

Answer: In neither the book nor the opera

Tatiana's nurse was indeed married at thirteen, but her spouse was even younger than that! She briefly tells Tatiana about it when the latter is sleepless and agitated after falling in love with Onegin.

10. In which version of "Rusalka" does the main male character, a prince, have a little daughter?

Answer: In both the play and the opera

He certainly does have a daughter in both Pushkin's unfinished play and Dargomyzhsky's opera, even though the circumstances of her birth are very weird. The prince's pregnant lover drowns herself after learning he is getting married to another, and turns into a rusalka (a malevolent water dweller). And after that, she gives birth to the prince's child, also a little rusalka.

Source: Author AutumnLleaves

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