Travesti Is No Travesty! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Disguised

In some times and places, such as many European countries into the 17th century and beyond, women were not allowed on stage at all, so the female roles in theater were played by men or boys "disguised" as women. En travesti roles are not limited to opera or theater: you can also find them in ballet. Widow Simone in "La Fille mal Gardee", the witch in "La Sylphide", and the evil fairy Carabosse in "The Sleeping Beauty" are female characters traditionally played by men, although Carabosse is more often played by a woman these days. Franz, the male lead in "Coppelia", was first played by a woman.

Answer: The Composer

The male Composer (no name given) of Strauss's work is played by a woman. He is upset that a burlesque routine is to play at the same time as his serious opera and absents himself from the drama in the second act. The Village Drunk is a character from "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk".

Answer: He is disguised as a woman.

Rosina and Susanna want to play a prank on Count Almaviva to teach him about love and fidelity, and they dress Cherubino as a girl as part of the ruse. So, a woman playing a man is disguised as a woman. It reminds me of the play "As You Like It", where a girl (played by a boy during Shakespeare's time) disguises herself as a boy, and in that disguise is dressed as a girl. Figaro is the one almost wedded to his own mother before the connection is discovered.

Answer: Octavian from "Der Rosenkavalier"

As Octavian has two female love interests, all the love duets and the love trio are sung by women. The parts of Akhnaten and Prince Go-Go were written for countertenors. Tamerlano was written for a castrato and these days can be played by a soprano or countertenor. Castrati were males who were castrated to preserve their youthful, high singing voices. Parts where a woman plays a male character are often called trouser roles.

Like Cherubino, Octavian also is disguised as a girl at a couple of points.

Answer: Love and war

A soprano plays L'Amour (meaning "love"), and a baritone sings Bellone (the "bell" prefix referring to war), goddess of war. Hebe, goddess of youth (portrayed by a soprano) calls for festivities, but is interrupted by Bellone, who summons young men to war.

Hebe petitions L'Amour (also called Cupid) for help, and the god goes to the Indies, where the four love stories take place. The opera-ballet was composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Answer: Die Fledermaus

The Prince hosts the party at which other characters are disguised, whether to keep out of prison, play a trick on a spouse, get revenge, or just enjoy a high-class party. I find it amusing that in a story full of disguised characters, the travesti role is of a man who is open about his identity. Johann Strauss II, the man behind so many waltzes, such as "Tales from the Vienna Woods" and "Artist's Life", wrote this operetta.

Answer: Radames in "Aida"

Radames, a tenor role, is the male lead in "Aida". The other three parts are young male characters and have female vocal ranges: mezzo-soprano for Hansel, and soprano for Ascagne and Oscar. In some travesti roles, it can be the case that the composer feels that a soprano or mezzo has a better range for the male character than a tenor, such as with Octavian in "Der Rosenkavalier".

Answer: The Love for Three Oranges

The part of the Cook is written for a bass, the lowest male range. The gigantic Cook guards the titular oranges of Prokofiev's satirical opera, so the Prince must distract her with a bit of ribbon so he can steal the fruit.

Answer: A soldier

Tancredi is a banished soldier who has lost his estate. Due to a misinterpreted letter, he comes to believe his sweetheart loves another and has treasonous thoughts. "Tancredi" has two endings: one happy, which was written first, and one sad. I watched a DVD of a live performance which played both endings: first the sad, then the happy. I preferred the happy version, perhaps because I've seen too many operas where lovers are thwarted, often because of a misunderstanding.

Answer: Bass

I've seen this a lot watching baroque operas. Often, at least one male character who originally would have been played by a man or boy is sung by a woman en travesti. These roles were not originally travesti ones but have become them out of necessity. Since bass is the lowest male range, it would be highly unlikely that one would sing a part written for a much higher range.