Deck 20: American Opera

Question 1

Scott Joplin was the first black composer to achieve success as an opera composer in his lifetime.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The composer of Porgy and Bess was

A) Mary Carr Moore
B) Scott Joplin
C) Gian-Carlo Menotti
D) George Gershwin

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The "da capo aria" is best illustrated by which of the following forms?

A) BAB
B) AAB
C) ABA
D) ABB

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Einstein on the Beach is an opera without a plot.

Question 5

The rhythm of an aria is usually

A) metered
B) unmetered
C) unsteady
D) syncopated

Question 6

A "libretto" contains all of the words and music that will be performed in an opera.

Question 7

Opera began to significantly develop in America just after World War I.

Question 8

Trios,quartets and choruses are various kinds of vocal

A) libretti
B) verismi
C) finales
D) ensembles

Question 9

Gertrude Stein was an influential music educator who lived in France.

Question 10

The Cradle Will Rock,The Devil and Daniel Webster,and The Tender Land all represent which of the following?

A) the trend toward the rock opera
B) the trend toward realism in opera
C) the trend toward the all-black cast
D) the trend toward frivolous subject matter

Question 11

Showy vocal display is most appropriate in which of the following?

A) recitative
B) aria
C) chorus
D) overture

Question 12

Which of the following opera components is strictly instrumental?

A) aria
B) recitative
C) overture
D) chorus

Question 13

Which American opera is based on the lives of people who lived in a black tenement area in Charleston,South Carolina?

A) Four Saints in Three Acts
B) Porgy and Bess
C) The Cradle Will Rock
D) Amahl and the Night Visitors

Question 14

Which of the following is not true regarding the role of the orchestra in opera?

A) carries equal weight with the singer in an aria
B) sets the mood or tone of scenes
C) makes musical references to characters
D) reveals unsung thoughts in the mind of characters

Question 15

The orchestra sometimes assumes a psychological role in opera,making references to ideas.

Question 16

Porgy and Bess was the first opera conceived especially for television.

Question 17

Recitative is usually unaccompanied to facilitate clear text recitation.

Question 18

What most distinguishes a "da capo aria" from other types of arias?

A) its rhythm
B) its form
C) its melody
D) its harmony

Question 19

In opera,the drama is moved along quickly via the "aria."

Question 20

The libretto for Four Saints in Three Acts was written by

A) Nadia Boulanger
B) Mary Carr Moore
C) Gertrude Stein
D) Virgil Thomson

Question 21

Which of the following was an Italian who came to America and wrote opera?

A) Virgil Thomson
B) Gian-Carlo Menotti
C) George Gershwin
D) William Henry Fry

Question 22

The story of Porgy and Bess is based upon a

A) novel
B) poem
C) ballet
D) song

Question 23

Imagine the following operatic scene: two singers formerly staged as a royal couple arrive at a peasant wedding in disguise,still obviously the same couple,and singing loudly about issues pertaining to royalty.Dramatically,how does the audience justify such a seemingly ridiculous situation on stage?

Question 24

What is the dramatic role of each of the following opera components? aria,recitative,overture,chorus

Question 25

Which of the following is not normally included in an opera?

A) acting
B) costumes
C) elaborate staging
D) spoken dialogue