Born on Feb. 2, 1937, Martina Arroyo would go on to become one of the greatest opera stars of the second half of the 20th century. The soprano was renowned for her interpretations of Verdi’s most demanding roles, but she was also a champion of a wider repertory. Once done singing, she would become a teacher and would create the {…}
Anthony Davis is one of the most prominent modern-day composers in the world. Renowned for a wide range of music, he has also cemented himself as a major creator of operas with just over half a dozen works to date, several of them modern classics. So for this week’s quiz, we take stock of his operatic repertory. We will provide {…}
When it comes to American opera, few composers have had quite the impact that John Adams has. Throughout his career as an opera composer, Adams has examined how history and myth come together in the collective conscious to impact society. As such, many of his operas have proven controversial, though some quite long-lasting. For this week’s quiz, we take stock {…}
As we commence Black History Month, OperaWire’s quizzes will shine a spotlight on the greatest Black artists in the history of opera. For this first quiz we will shine a spotlight on Black composers. As always, enjoy!
Philip Glass is one of the greatest and most influential composers over the past 50 years. It’s likely that you’ve heard his music, whether you realize it or not. And if not his music specifically, then music inspired or copying his style very directly. That’s how much of an imprint Glass has had over the last half-century. And he hasn’t {…}
Bellini’s “I Puritani” had its world premiere back on Jan. 24, 1835. From there it was a massive hit and then disappeared for quite some time, only to be revived in the middle of the 20th century. Today, the opera remains one of the great works of the standard bel canto repertory, beloved for its vast and endless melodic invention. {…}
We’re going to step away from opera quizzes related to specific people or works this week and just jump to trivia quizzes related to some fun facts in many of the great operas around the world. So we provide a prompt and you have to guess which number corresponds with said prompt. As always, enjoy!
A few weeks back we spotlighted some modern composers and librettists. And in the past we’ve also presented quizzes with some of the world’s legendary opera composers. But we hadn’t done one that spotlighted the wealth of women composers in the opera world, not only in the present, but throughout history. So for this week’s edition we focus on many {…}
Happy New Year! For this week’s quiz we open at the top of the opera score with the opening musical moments. In this quiz, we show you the opening bars of an opera and then have you choose which opera it corresponds to. Non-musicians might seem daunted by this challenge, but it will allow you to recall your favorite operas {…}
Last year, we published this quiz on opera companies around the world. And this week, we’re going to take on a similar task, with a twist. In keeping with our recent theme of championing new operas of the 21st century, we’re going to spotlight the source of many of these new works: the United States. And within the U.S., we {…}
One of the benefits of seeing the creation of brand new operas is the opportunity to see them championed by many of the great living opera legends. So for this week’s quiz, you will be presented with three-five names of opera singers who performed on the world premiere of a given opera. It will be your task to determine which {…}