Music 111 Chapter 18

What important role does the orchestra play in the first scene of The Valkyrie?

By carrying the leitmotivs, it conveys the psychological depth of the characters and their feelings.

Carl Maria von Weber's most important work is:

Der Freischütz (The Magic Bullet).

Carl Maria von Weber was the founder of:

German Romantic opera.

The Nibelung's Ring is based on:

Germanic or Norse legends.

Which term refers to a synthesis of many of the arts into one unified work, or "total work of art"?

Gesamtkunstwerk

Who composed "Bella figlia dell'amore"?

Giuseppe Verdi

Who composed "La donna è mobile"?

Giuseppe Verdi

Who composed Rigoletto?

Giuseppe Verdi

Which is true of Vincenzo Bellini?

He was a composer of refined, highly expressive Romantic melodies

What three early operas of Verdi assured him international fame?

Il trovatore, La traviata, and Rigoletto

What became of Wagner's leitmotiv technique?

It became used in most operas.

Which statement about The Nibelung's Ring is false?

It exhibits a classic emotional restraint.

The setting of Rigoletto is:

Italy.

Romantic opera began to surface in ________ in the ________.

Italy; 1820s

Which was composed by Gaetano Donizetti?

Lucia di Lammermoor

Gioacchino Rossini's opera buffa style was similar to that of:

Mozart.

Which is considered Vincenzo Bellini's finest opera?

Norma

Verdi's last two masterpieces were:

Otello and Falstaff.

Who composed Madame Butterfly?

Puccini

Many scholars say that, next to Beethoven, ________ had the greatest influence on nineteenth-century composers.

Richard Wagner

Who composed The Nibelung's Ring?

Richard Wagner

Who wrote the texts for Richard Wagner's operas?

Richard Wagner himself

Which statement is false?

Romantic opera flourished only in Germany and Italy

Which was composed by Gioacchino Rossini?

The Barber of Seville

Wagner's ________ was part of the larger work ________.

The Rhinegold; The Nibelung's Ring

How does the vocal quartet end in Act III, scene i of Rigoletto?

There is a long passage for all four voices.

Which is true of the opening lines of "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto?

They are part of an aria.

Which statement is false?

Verdi's operas still employ secco recitative, although in a bel canto style.

Rigoletto was based on a play by the French writer:

Victor Hugo.

Which statement is false?

Wagner's career as a concert pianist enabled him to travel all over Europe.

What happens after the aria "La donna è mobile" in Rigoletto?

a brief recitative then a vocal quartet.

What is not heard in the recitative preceding "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto?

a chorus.

Gaetano Donizetti is considered:

a prolific composer of more than sixty operas

The "Bella figlia dell'amore" section in Rigoletto includes:

a vocal quartet

In the first scene of The Valkyrie, when Siegmund utters the repeated word Misswende, Wagner:

adds dissonant chords in the orchestra.

"La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto is a(n):

aria.

"La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto is the first line of a(n):

aria.

"Un bel dì" is a(n):

aria.

Wagner was particularly against:

arias.

A style of opera developed by early Italian Romantic composers was called:

bel canto.

What is the relationship of the two protagonists in the opening of The Valkyrie?

brother and sister

What is the mood portrayed in "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto?

compelling, jaunty

When the character Siegmund collapses in Sieglinde's house in the first scene of The Valkyrie, we hear a leitmotiv in which there is a(n):

descending scale melody played by the cellos.

Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Gioacchino Rossini were all:

early Italian Romantic opera composers.

The melody of "Un bel dì" has a _________ character.

floating, fantasy

What characterizes the singers' melodies in the first scene of The Valkyrie?

free-formed declamation of the words

Wagner uses mythology in The Nibelung's Ring to reflect on modern life, the basic theme being:

greed and hunger for power bring moral decline.

Which allows a composer to show what a character is thinking even though something else is being said in the text?

leitmotiv

Late Romantic operas became known for:

more realistic tendencies, using current middle- or lower-class characters.

What did Wagner call his new style of opera in the 1850s?

music drama

"La donna è mobile" is from a(n):

opera.

Wagner was as well-known for his ________ as he was for his operas.

political views

In Verdi's operas the orchestra plays a greater role in ________ and a lesser role in ________.

recitatives; arias

In the first scene of The Valkyrie, as Sieglinde gives Siegmund a drink of water and their eyes meet, a new leitmotiv is heard, written for the:

solo cello and other low strings.

At the end of "Un bel dì" the orchestra:

takes up the intensified melody to end the aria.

The characters in Act III, scene i of Rigoletto include:

the Duke, Gilda, Rigoletto, Maddalena.

Many of Verdi's early operas were associated with:

the Italian liberation movement.

Puccini's operas capitalized on:

the Romantic tendency for psychological depiction in opera.

What were the two most important elements of Wagner's operatic style?

the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk and the technique of leitmotiv

What announces the return of Hunding in the first scene of The Valkyrie?

the low brasses

When Sieglinde enters in the first scene of The Valkyrie, she bends over Siegmund and a leitmotiv is heard in which:

the melody rises and gently falls back in the violins.

Leitmotivs are developed by means of:

thematic transformation

The performing forces in the section starting with "Bella figlia dell'amore" from Rigoletto consist of:

two female soloists, two male soloists, and orchestra.

The performing forces in the recitative at the end of "Bella figlia dell'amore" consist of:

two vocal soloists

Unlike the Romantic Italian opera composers of his time, Carl Maria von Weber:

used supernatural subject matter in his opera.