Music History IV: Dr. Robert Vodnoy.
Spring Semester, 2008
Study Guide: Early 19th Century Opera, Verdi, and Wagner
1. Be able to match these opera houses with the cities in which they are located:
a) Opéra-Comique
b) Staatsoper
c) Théátre des Italiens
d) Covent Garden
e) Las Scala
f) Festspielhaus
g) Theater an der Wien
What elements are usually present in grand opera which make it “grand”?
What was the precursor of German romantic opera?
How did operá comique differ from Grand opera?
What is leitmotif technique? Who developed it?
Who was an early user of reminiscence technique, a precursor of leitmotif
technique?
7. How did the lure of exoticism effect romantic opera? Give some example of
exoticism in 19th century opera.
8. What is the Gesamtkunstwerk? Whose idea was it?
9. Who wrote The World as Will and Representation?
10. Who wrote Das Judentum in der Musik and The Artwork of the Future? What
claims did the author make in them?
11. Be able to identity and/or match up the following people with the correct
composer or description of their work.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Eugene Scribe
Hans von Bülow
Giusseppina Strepponi
Goilio Riccordi
Arrigo Boito
Cosima Liszt
Isabella Colbran
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
Jennie Lind
Prince Ludwig II
Edward Hanslick
Mikhail Bakunin
Margherita Barezzi
Minna Planner
12. Be able to match the opera title to the composer who wrote it. For titles with an
asterisk, be able to match the title with the brief plot summary.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Les Huguenots*
L’Africaine
Carmen*
Faust*
Benvenuto Cellini
Beatrice and Benedict*
Les Troyens*
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
n.
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Fra Diavolo
Opheé aux enfers*
Barber of Seville*
Cenerentola*
Guillaume Tell*
La Sonnambula
Lucia di Lammermoor
o.
p.
q.
r.
s.
t.
u.
v.
w.
x.
Der Freischütz*
Der Fliegende Holländer*
Lohengrin*
Tannhäuser
Das Reingold*
Die Walküre*
Siegfried*
Götterdämmerung*
Tristan und Isolde*
Die Meistersinger von
Nürnberg*
y. Parsifal*
z. Nabucco*
aa. Macbeth
bb. La traviata*
cc. Les Véspres siciliennes
dd. La forza del destino
ee. Rigoletto*
ff. Il Trovatore
gg. Don Carlo
hh. Aida*
ii. Otello*
jj. Falstaff*
13. Match the following arias or scenes with the opera from which they came:
a. Una voce poco fa
b. L’Amour est un oiseau rebelle
c. Wolf’s Glen scene
d. Piagea cantando
14. Name an opera based on the literary work of:
a. Victor Hugo
b. Alexandre Dumas, fils
c. Shakespeare
d. Goethe
e. Virgil
15. What is a cabaletta?
16. What is a patter aria?
17. How does the “double aria” structure work in Rossini’s and Verdi’s operas?
18. What is the bel canto style?
19. Match the number with the correct answer:
2, 13, 26, 39, 70
___
number of wives which both Verdi and Wagner had
___
number of operas composed by Rossini
___
number of operas composed by Wagner
___
number operas composed by Verdi
___
number of operas composed by Donizetti
Questions 19-21 may call for a short answer, or may be a long paragraph with multiple
fill-in-the-blank opportunities.
20. Know the basic facts of Rossini’s life, including his family background, early
successes, who he married, what theater he managed, and possible reasons as to
why he stopped writing opera around 1828.
21. Know the basic facts of Verdi’s life, including his family background, where he
was born, his early patrons, the circumstances surrounding his first marriage and
second marriage, early successes, personal tragedies, the basic periods into which
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his creative life can be divided, important operas from each period, his political
activity, etc.
22. What does Viva VERDI mean?
23. Know the basic facts of Wagner’s life, including his family background, where he
was born, his first and second marriage, his patrons, his political activity, the
basic periods into which his creative life can be divided, important operas from
each period, his conduct with regard to marriage and money, his attitudes toward
Jews, etc.
24. What was the Cecilian movement? How did it effect romantic composition of
liturgical music?
25. What work by Beethoven was the model for the large-scale liturgical works of the
later 19th century?
26. What are the names of the two large-scale religious works composed by Berlioz?
For type of event were they composed?
27. What was the name of the German symphonist who was the organist at Linz and
who composed numerous masses and motets?
28. Rossini used an operatic style in his ___________________ which was
condemned by Pope Pius ___ in _____________________ of 1903.
29. Verdi composed a Requiem in memory of __________________________, a
famous Italian author.
30. What innovations did Wagner incorporate into the design of the Festival House at
Bayreuth?
31. What are the differences between a Wagner and a Verdi libretto?
32. What was Verdi’s opinion of Shakespeare?
33. Which Verdi operas are based on Shakespeare plays?
There will be listening questions on this test.
Take home essay question:
Compare and contrast Verdi’s and Wagner’s impact on 19th century opera. Consider their
continuation of their respective national styles, their innovations, and their political
involvement. Consider also their choices of subject matter.
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