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Quiz about The Ring According to Russell
Quiz about The Ring According to Russell

The "Ring" According to Russell Quiz


A quiz on British comedienne Anna Russell's hilarious "analysis" of Wagner's "Ring der Nibelungen" ("I'm not making this up, you know!"). Enjoy & Good Luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by jouen58. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
jouen58
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
177,242
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
412
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. We begin with "Das Rheingold", whose first scene takes place in the river Rhine ("IN it!!"). Swimming around there are the three Rhinemaidens ("A sort of aquatic Andrew Sisters."). Why does Mme Russell decline to translate the text of their "signature tune"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The "gimmick" of the magic gold of the Rhine consists of the fact that whoever will fashion a ring from it will become Master of the Universe, provided that he/she makes what terrible sacrifice? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Who is described as a "crashing bore"? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. When Wotan steals the gold from Alberich to pay the giants for building Valhalla, Alberich puts a terrible curse on the Ring. When Fafner kills his brother giant Fasolt to get the Ring for himself, Wotan realizes that the curse is working. Worried, he consults "My Friend Erda" ("She's a green-faced torso that pops out of the ground"). Erda sings her aria "Weiche, Wotan, Weiche!" ("Be careful, Wotan, be careful!"). What does she do next? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Between Parts I & II, Wotan has been wandering about on the Earth and has fathered two illegitimate children by a mortal; Siegmund and Sieglinde. He has done this whilst disguised under what "singularly appropriate" name? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Complete the quote "One day who should turn up but Siegmund, and he falls madly in love with Sieglinde; regardless of the fact that she's married to Hunding (which is immoral!) and that she's his own sister (which is _______!)" Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Part III is devoted to Siegfried, child of Siegmund and Sieglinde. To what comic-strip character did Russell memorably compare Siegfried? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Part IV ("Gotterdammerung") opens with the three Norns (fates), who are additional daughters of Erda and, presumably, also Siegfried's aunts ("But this bunch of Aunts are just as droopy as the first lot [the Valkyries] were noisy!"). What, among other things, do the Norns do in the beginning of Act I? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Siegfried leaves Brunhilde to go off on his travels. He meets the Gibichungs: "Gunther and Gutrune Gibich, and their half-brother Hagen, whose mother was a Gibich (!), but whose father was Alberich the dwarf! Remember Alberich?". We know Hagen is bad news when he greets Siegfried using the tune of Alberich's curse. Sure enough, he gives Siegfried a magic potion hich causes him to forget all about Brunhilde and fall in love with Gutrune Gibich. For what other reason, according to Russell, does Siegfried find Gutrune attractive? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Brunhilde is "terribly annoyed" by Siegfried's throwing her over for Gutrune, so she plots with Hagen that he shall kill Siegfried, which he does. As soon as Siegfried is dead, she's sorry ("I know all you men are going to say 'So like a woman'"). She builds a funeral pyre and put Siegfried on it. She then gets on her horse, gallops on the funeral pyre and lights it. They burn up. "That sets Valhalla alight, and it burns up. Wotan and all the gods burn up. Then the whole works catches fire, and it all burns up!". At this point, the river Rhine overflows ("Remember the Rhine?"). Who turns up next? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. We begin with "Das Rheingold", whose first scene takes place in the river Rhine ("IN it!!"). Swimming around there are the three Rhinemaidens ("A sort of aquatic Andrew Sisters."). Why does Mme Russell decline to translate the text of their "signature tune"?

Answer: It doesn't mean anything.

The Rhinemaidens (actually Woglinde) are singing a lullabye to the Rhine gold, which they are guarding (not terribly well). Some of the lyrics to this "lullabye" do actually have meaning, but not many.
2. The "gimmick" of the magic gold of the Rhine consists of the fact that whoever will fashion a ring from it will become Master of the Universe, provided that he/she makes what terrible sacrifice?

Answer: Renounces love

Alberich, the "excessively unattractive" dwarf who makes a pass at the Rhinemaidens and is cruelly rejected, decides to steal the gold and make the ring because "he's not going to get any love anyhow."
3. Who is described as a "crashing bore"?

Answer: Wotan

Wotan, of course; he of the interminable monologues (most of them rehashing events we've already sat through at length). Fricka ("Mrs. Fricka Wotan") is a "nag", Fafner is the giant who, for unknown reasons, turns into a dragon for Part III. Loge, interestingly, doesn't make an appearance in Russell's monologue.
4. When Wotan steals the gold from Alberich to pay the giants for building Valhalla, Alberich puts a terrible curse on the Ring. When Fafner kills his brother giant Fasolt to get the Ring for himself, Wotan realizes that the curse is working. Worried, he consults "My Friend Erda" ("She's a green-faced torso that pops out of the ground"). Erda sings her aria "Weiche, Wotan, Weiche!" ("Be careful, Wotan, be careful!"). What does she do next?

Answer: Bears him eight daughters.

Actually, Wotan doesn't consult Erda; she gives him her unsolicited advice before Wotan bestows the Ring on the giants. Also, she bears him nine, not eight, daughters; this actually happens a considerable time after her warning, however she obviously failed to heed her own advice!
5. Between Parts I & II, Wotan has been wandering about on the Earth and has fathered two illegitimate children by a mortal; Siegmund and Sieglinde. He has done this whilst disguised under what "singularly appropriate" name?

Answer: Wolf

Wotan, as was also true of Zeus in Greek mythology, spends a great deal of time dallying with assorted females (except for his wife, of course) and producing sundry offspring. The Walsung twins become separated at birth and Sieglinde marries Hunding, who plays the Wagner tuba and "has an ash tree, with a sword stuck in it, growing through his living-room floor!"
6. Complete the quote "One day who should turn up but Siegmund, and he falls madly in love with Sieglinde; regardless of the fact that she's married to Hunding (which is immoral!) and that she's his own sister (which is _______!)"

Answer: Illegal!

"But that's the beauty of Grand Opera; you can do ANYTHING, so long as you sing it!"
7. Part III is devoted to Siegfried, child of Siegmund and Sieglinde. To what comic-strip character did Russell memorably compare Siegfried?

Answer: Li'l Abner

"He's very young, and he's very handsome, and he's very strong, and he's very brave, and he's very STUPID! He's a regular Li'l Abner type." What can one expect, given his parentage? Siegfried eventually gets the Ring ("Remember the Ring?"), finds Brunhilde, falls in love with her and gives her the Ring ("She's his aunt, by the way!").
8. Part IV ("Gotterdammerung") opens with the three Norns (fates), who are additional daughters of Erda and, presumably, also Siegfried's aunts ("But this bunch of Aunts are just as droopy as the first lot [the Valkyries] were noisy!"). What, among other things, do the Norns do in the beginning of Act I?

Answer: Tell the whole story right over again from the beginning.

"So actually, you can skip Parts I, II, and III and go straight to "Gotterdammerung" and you'll be just as far ahead!" The Norns actually give us a few details about things we didn't know already, and make a few predictions.
9. Siegfried leaves Brunhilde to go off on his travels. He meets the Gibichungs: "Gunther and Gutrune Gibich, and their half-brother Hagen, whose mother was a Gibich (!), but whose father was Alberich the dwarf! Remember Alberich?". We know Hagen is bad news when he greets Siegfried using the tune of Alberich's curse. Sure enough, he gives Siegfried a magic potion hich causes him to forget all about Brunhilde and fall in love with Gutrune Gibich. For what other reason, according to Russell, does Siegfried find Gutrune attractive?

Answer: She's the only woman he's come across who isn't his aunt.

At this point, Russell would stop the show with the classic line "I'm not making this up, you know!"
10. Brunhilde is "terribly annoyed" by Siegfried's throwing her over for Gutrune, so she plots with Hagen that he shall kill Siegfried, which he does. As soon as Siegfried is dead, she's sorry ("I know all you men are going to say 'So like a woman'"). She builds a funeral pyre and put Siegfried on it. She then gets on her horse, gallops on the funeral pyre and lights it. They burn up. "That sets Valhalla alight, and it burns up. Wotan and all the gods burn up. Then the whole works catches fire, and it all burns up!". At this point, the river Rhine overflows ("Remember the Rhine?"). Who turns up next?

Answer: The Rhinemaidens

The Rhinemaidens take the Ring, put it back where it came from, and "after sitting through this whole operation... you're exactly where you started twenty hours ago!"

In her autobiography, "I'm Not Making This Up, You Know", Russell regretted not being able (due to time considerations) to deal with Freia, Loge, the tarnhelm, Mime, and the interesting fact that Wotan lost the same eye three different times for three completely different reasons. For information on Anna Russell (born 1912), check out http://annarussellshrine.tripod.com
Source: Author jouen58

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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