With an election coming upon the U.S. and the world in general focusing on their nations’ leaders in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we turn to a topic that we believe is at the core of opera: politics. On a very personal note, it’s been rather surprising to hear many comments about how opera and politics should not be “mixed {…}
(Credit: Louis Melançon) Jon Vickers is one of the great tenors of the 20th century, renowned for his work in the more dramatic repertory. To celebrate his birthday on Oct. 29, we’ve put together a quiz that probes some of his major career highlights and some of his thoughts and ideals on opera. As always, enjoy!
(Credit: Pavel Vaan / Leonid Semenyuk) Dmitri Hvorostovsky is one of the most beloved baritones of recent memory. Born on Oct. 16, 1962, he would go on to conquer opera houses around the world in a wide range of repertory. Some of his most renowned roles included some of Verdi’s heavy hitters as well as Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Unfortunately, after {…}
Giuseppe Verdi’s operas represent many of the cornerstone works of the standard repertory. Or more precisely, his middle to late period operas are. Some of his early operas manage to get persistent performances, but many of those initial offerings remain rarities around the world. So for this week’s quiz, we turn our attention to those very operas. We will provide {…}
As we continue our celebration of Hispanic / Latinx Heritage Month, we shift from great operas and composers throughout Latin America and Spain to modern-day opera stars. For this quiz, we provide you with a brief description and you must pick which singer it best applies to. We hope you enjoy!
As we dig deeper into Hispanic Heritage Month (or Latinx Heritage Month as some prefer), we take a deeper look at some of opera’s most renowned Spanish-Language composers. So for this quiz, you will get a hint. The name of an opera. A fact about a famed opera by the composer. A summary of an opera. And your job is {…}
Italian. French. German. Russian. English. These languages are at the core of opera’s standard repertory. But what many don’t know, is that Spanish-language opera has as rich a heritage to choose from and many works in Spanish deserve a similar foothold in the standard repertory. For this week’s quiz, we are going to shine the slimmest of lights on the {…}
As far the baroque era goes, Handel is the master of opera. The German-born composer was one of the most beloved composers of his time, dominating the opera scenes in Italy and England. Today, his operas have slowly regained their foothold in the standard repertory. This week’s quiz will focus on Handel’s operas, providing a unique challenge for those new {…}
Richard Strauss is one of the great composers in opera history. Many of his best works are major staples of the international repertory, including “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Elektra,” Salome,” and “Ariadne auf Naxos,” among others. But Strauss wrote a lot more operas, many of them obscure. While those works will be among those spotlighted in this quiz, we will challenge you {…}
(Credit: Metropolitan Opera) This week’s quiz takes stock of the operas of Bellini. The Italian composer has seen a resurgence in recent decades with his operas becoming major fixtures of the standard repertory. So for this quiz, we will test your knowledge of the operas’ history as well as their famed arias as well. As always, enjoy!
Puccini’s “La Bohème” might just be the most popular opera ever written. We know its tunes. We know its love story. We know its ability to navigate the totality of life’s highs and lows in sweeping and crushing manner. So for this week’s quiz, we will test that knowledge more intimately. How well do you know it’s history? It’s libretto {…}