The Italian term for “beautiful singing” is:

The terms “prima donna” and “diva” both refer to the heroine of the opera and are thus interchangeable.

What is meant by the Italian term “Risorgimento”?

Which style of opera did Verdi compose?

During his lifetime, he was the most popular opera composer in Europe and even today his operas are performed more than those by any other composer.

Becoming wealthy in his later years, this composer retired to his country estate, only writing operas when the subject was personally interesting or the monetary remuneration was of staggering proportions. He based his final two operas on Shakespearean dramas; when he died he was a respected national institution.

Identify the correct answer for “recitativo accompagnato.”

Which two characters have the leading roles in Verdi’s opera La traviata?

What is the typical subject matter of realistic opera?

Realistic operas generally have a happy ending.

This composer spent his short life entirely in Paris. The premiere of his masterpiece was a flop because Parisian audiences thought the subject matter too degrading, though now it is considered the world’s most popular opera.

Which realistic opera is set in Spain, but sung in French?

Identify the frustrated lover, and ultimately murderer, of Carmen.

Which statement regarding the Habanera is wrong?

What is the term for the Italian form of realistic opera?

He achieved his first triumph at the age of thirty-five with Manon Lescaut; further successes followed in rapid succession, but after he became famous and wealthy, he grew a bit complacent, composing less frequently and his last opera was left unfinished at his death from throat cancer.

Which opera is an example of verismo?

This composer created an operatic tradition that was distinct to Germany, and he exerted enormous influence on the musical style of other composers during the end of the nineteenth century.

Exiled from Germany and its opera houses, he lived in Switzerland for twelve years, where he began work on his massive Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). Publishers were initially reluctant to support the Ring cycle, so he interrupted work on it to compose more manageable dramas such as Tristan und Isolde (1865) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, 1868).

The Bayreuth Festival features works by this composer:

Which term did Wagner use to describe compositions for the stage?

This term, literally meaning “total art work,” describes the unification of all the arts (poetry, music, acting, set design, etc.) for a single dramatic purpose.

This operatic term describes a melodic gesture associated with a person, object, or idea.

Which character sings the Liebestod?