Q&A Hero

Q: The principal themes that recur throughout Wagners operas and carry specific meanings are called: a. libretti. c. motives. b. leitmotifs. d. fixed ideas.

Q: Wagner called his operas: a. tone poems. c. oratorios. b. music dramas. d. operettas.

Q: Which of the following composers created the music drama? a. Wagner c. Brahms b. Liszt d. Verdi

Q: The concept of a total artwork in which all the artsmusic, poetry, drama, and visual spectacleare fused together is called: a. Gesamtkunstwerk. c. Ewigemelodie. b. leitmotifs. d. cyclic unity.

Q: In his Ring of the Nibelung, which characteristic of traditional opera did Wagner eliminate? a. separate arias c. the overture b. the orchestra d. costumes

Q: A special theater was built at _____ for the presentation of Wagners music dramas. a. Dresden c. Berlin b. Munich d. Bayreuth

Q: Wagners cycle of four music dramas is called: a. Lohengrin. c. The Ring of the Nibelung. b. Tristan and Isolde. d. Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg.

Q: Wagner chose to base his early operas on: a. dramas of historical intrigue. c. ancient Greek tragedies. b. medieval German epics. d. Biblical stories.

Q: Which of the following is an opera from the Ring cycle? a. Siegfried c. Der fliegende Hollnder b. Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg d. Lohengrin

Q: Who wrote the librettos for Wagners music dramas? a. Goethe. c. Mller. b. Heine. d. Wagner.

Q: Wagners first operatic success was an opera entitled: a. The Flying Dutchman. c. Rienzi. b. Tristan and Isolde. d. Faust.

Q: Which composer is considered the greatest figure in German opera and one of the most significant in the history of the Romantic era? a. Brahms c. Wagner b. Schubert d. Schumann

Q: Which of the following characterizes Singspiel? a. It was preceded by the German Romantic opera. b. It featured elaborate recitatives and arias. c. The plots were generally dark. d. Mozarts opera The Magic Flute is an example of this genre.

Q: Why do Verdis operas have such enduring popular appeal? Cite examples from the textbook.

Q: How were Verdis operas able to inspire nationalist sentiment?

Q: How does Jenny Linds career reflect the changing attitude toward women performers during the nineteenth century?

Q: Before the age of recording, catchy excerpts from operas were marketed in arrangements, whether for the home or for public spaces.

Q: A play by Shakespeare inspired Verdi to compose Rigoletto.

Q: Verdi worked closely with music publishers to help build a market for his works.

Q: In Rigoletto, Verdi turns away from tuneful melodies to heighten the dramatic action.

Q: The aria La donna mobile from Verdis Rigoletto, is set in simple, strophic form with a refrain.

Q: Verdis Aida could be viewed as an example of exoticism because of its Egyptian setting.

Q: Verdis operas stirred a revolutionary spirit within the Italian people.

Q: Bellini, the first major composer of Romantic Italian opera, is celebrated for his music for William Tell.

Q: Women achieved prominence during the Romantic era as opera singers.

Q: Which character sings La donna mobile? a. the Duke c. Gilda b. Rigoletto d. Maddalena

Q: What is the setting for Rigoletto? a. a Renaissance-era ducal court in northern Italy b. 1850s Rome c. the Roman senate d. a rural village in southern France

Q: Who managed Jenny Linds 1850 American concert tour? a. Stephen Foster c. John Sullivan Dwight b. P. T. Barnum d. Paul Lind

Q: Which of the following wrote the play that was the source of Verdis inspiration for Rigoletto? a. E. T. A. Hoffmann c. Victor Hugo b. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe d. Arrigo Boito

Q: Which character dies at the end of Rigoletto? a. Rigoletto c. Sparafucile b. the duke of Mantua d. Gilda, Rigolettos daughter

Q: The ensemble that follows La donna mobile in Act III of Rigoletto is a(n): a. duet. c. sextet. b. quartet. d. octet.

Q: What is the English translation of the title La donna mobile? a. the mobile Donna b. Donna is mobile c. Woman is not fickle d. Woman is fickle

Q: _____ was Verdis last opera, which he completed at age eighty. a. Macbeth c. Aida b. Rigoletto d. Falstaff

Q: Which Verdi opera was commissioned for a performance in Cairo to mark the opening of the Suez Canal? a. Il trovatore c. Macbeth b. Rigoletto d. Aida

Q: How many operas did Verdi write? a. six c. twenty b. eight d. twenty-eight

Q: Verdis opera Nabucco was hugely popular in Italy because it: a. was interpreted as a symbol of Italian independence. b. had raunchy dance scenes. c. contained popular tunes. d. was based on Roman history.

Q: Which of the following was a widely beloved Italian nationalist opera composer? a. Verdi c. Brahms b. Chopin d. Liszt

Q: The term bel canto refers to: a. a female singer who performs male roles. b. the standard form of nineteenth-century Italian arias. c. a style of singing that features agility and purity of tone. d. the new melodic recitative of the nineteenth century.

Q: Which of the following composed The Barber of Seville and William Tell? a. Donizetti c. Bellini b. Bizet d. Rossini

Q: Italian comic opera is called: a. opera seria. c. opera buffa. b. opra comique. d. Singspiel.

Q: Which nineteenth-century opera singer made a great impression in America by performing both opera excerpts and parlor songs? a. Fanny Hensel c. Giuseppina Stepponi b. Jenny Lind d. Clara Schumann

Q: Discuss Brahmss mixture of Classical and Romantic qualities in his Symphony No. 3.

Q: Discuss how Romantic composers pushed against and worked within the existing formal boundaries of the symphony during the nineteenth century.

Q: The third movement of Brahmss Symphony No. 3 in F Major is a rollicking scherzo.

Q: Brahmss Symphony No. 3 is a program symphony.

Q: Brahmss symphonies use a Romantic harmonic idiom but are Classical in form.

Q: At an early age, Brahms developed a lifelong affection for folk music.

Q: Robert Schumann recognized Brahms as the great innovator who would move music beyond the Classical forms.

Q: The fourth movement of a Romantic symphony has the dimension and character designed to balance the first movement.

Q: The typical Romantic symphony has four movements.

Q: The symphony was a new genre in the Romantic era.

Q: Classical forms were abandoned during the Romantic era.

Q: In absolute music, musical ideas are organized without the aid of external images provided by a program.

Q: Brahms collected ________ throughout his life. a. folk songs and folk sayings c. stamps b. butterflies d. none of the answers shown here

Q: The opening theme of the third movement of Brahmss Symphony No. 3 is first played by the: a. cellos. c. oboes. b. French horns. d. full orchestra.

Q: Which of the following best describes the style of the third movement of Brahmss Symphony No. 3? a. a stately minuet c. a melancholic waltz b. a fast scherzo d. a funeral dirge

Q: The structure of the third movement of Brahmss Symphony No. 3 is: a. binary. c. rondo. b. ternary. d. theme and variations.

Q: Which of the following characterizes Brahmss Symphony No. 3? a. Romantic structure c. programmatic images b. continuous mood d. cyclic unity

Q: Brahms is often described as a(n) _____ because of his use of forms of the Classical masters. a. traditionalist c. nationalist b. Impressionist d. Romanticist

Q: Which of the following was a major composer of Lieder? a. Berlioz c. Brahms b. Chopin d. all of the answers shown here

Q: Brahms wrote _____ symphonies. a. four c. nine b. five d. 104

Q: The death of ______ inspired Brahms to write his German Requiem. a. his mother c. Beethoven b. Clara Schumann. d. Robert Schumann

Q: Which young composer did Robert and Clara Schumann take into their home? a. Wagner c. Brahms b. Liszt d. Mendelssohn

Q: Brahms was recognized as a future leader of absolute music by: a. Hector Berlioz. c. Joseph Joachim. b. Robert Schumann. d. Franz Liszt.

Q: The standard four-movement structure of a Romantic symphony is: a. slow-fast-slow-dance. c. fast-slow-dance-fast. b. fast-fast-slow-fast. d. slow-dance-fast-fast.

Q: How many movements does a typical Romantic symphony contain? a. one c. three b. two d. four

Q: Which movement of a Romantic symphony is most likely to be strongly rhythmic and dancelike? a. sonata-allegro c. scherzo b. theme and variations d. none of the answers shown here

Q: Which movement of a symphony is traditionally the slowest? a. the first movement c. the third movement b. the second movement d. the fourth movement

Q: The first movement of a Romantic era symphony generally retains the basic elements of _____ form. a. theme-and-variations c. minuet or scherzo b. sonata-allegro d. rondo

Q: By the Romantic era, concerts had moved from: a. the opera house to the church. b. the aristocratic palace to the church. c. the aristocratic palace to the public concert hall. d. the public concert hall to the aristocratic palace.

Q: The most important organizing element in absolute music is: a. form. c. programmatic images. b. thematic transformation. d. improvisation.

Q: Which of the following is a type of absolute music? a. incidental music c. the concert overture b. the symphony d. the symphonic poem

Q: How was nationalism reflected in nineteenth-century music? Cite several examples in your response.

Q: Grieg brought much visibility to Norway through music.

Q: Grieg worked to promote Scandinavian music through an academy he helped found.

Q: Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 draws on the unique imagery and folk traditions of Russia.

Q: Anitras Dance from Griegs Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 was conceived as grotesque ballet music.

Q: In the Hall of the Mountain King from Griegs Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 is a depiction of the sunrise.

Q: Grieg considered the twenty-two pieces he originally wrote for Peer Gynt among his greatest works.

Q: Writer Henrik Ibsen invited Grieg to compose music for Peer Gynt.