Chapter 18: Performing Grief: Purcell and Early Opera
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A drama that is sung is called:
a. a madrigal. c. a cantata.
b. an opera. d. a motet.
2. The vocal style in opera that imitates the natural inflections of speech is called:
a. recitative. c. chorus.
b. aria. d. madrigal.
3. A highly emotional song in an opera is called:
a. an aria. c. an ensemble.
b. a chorus. d. a recitative.
4. The orchestral introduction heard at the beginning of an opera is called:
a. an overture. c. an ensemble.
b. a ritornello. d. a recitative.
5. The text of an opera is called:
a. the lyrics. c. the script.
b. the libretto. d. the play.
6. Who composed Orfeo and was also recognized for having solidified early experiments with music
dramas into the genre now called opera?
a. Monteverdi c. Handel
b. Purcell d. Puccini
7. Which cultural center rejected Italian opera?
a. France c. Germany
b. England d. Austria
8. A type of English entertainment combining music, poetry, and dance was called:
a. tragédie lyrique. c. masque.
b. monody. d. oratorio.
9. The most well known native-born English composer of the Baroque was:
a. George Frideric Handel. c. Henry Purcell.
b. Thomas Morley. d. Oliver Cromwell.
10. The first performance of Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas took place at:
a. the Royal Opera in London. c. a girls’ school in London.
b. the Metropolitan Opera. d. La Scala in Milan.
11. Who was the librettist of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas?
a. Josias Priest c. John Milton
b. Nahum Tate d. John Donne
12. On which epic poem was Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas based?
a. Milton’s Paradise Lost c. Homer’s Iliad
b. Homer’s Odyssey d. Virgil’s Aeneid
13. Dido sings her famous lament in Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas just prior to:
a. marrying Aeneas. c. killing herself.
b. killing Aeneas. d. leaving with Aeneas.
14. Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas is composed:
a. over a ground bass.
b. in the style of imitative counterpoint.
c. in the ternary form common to the genre.
d. in the ritornello form of the period.
15. The musical interludes heard between scenes of an opera are called:
a. overtures. c. arias.
b. sinfonias. d. recitatives.
TRUE/FALSE
1. In opera, the lyric melodies that release emotional tension are called recitatives.
2. Early operas, such as Monteverdi’s Orfeo, were simple productions for intimate gatherings.
3. The first public opera houses opened in Venice.
4. In seventeenth-century England, the masque was a popular type of aristocratic entertainment that
combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance.
5. Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas was first performed in a public opera house.
6. The aria “When I am laid in earth” is unified by a descending chromatic-scale, ground bass.
7. The aria “When I am laid in earth” is accompanied by continuo only.
8. An opera is a drama that is sung.
ESSAY
1. Describe the various components of opera, commenting on the function of each in the drama.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 95–96
TOP: Baroque Opera MSC: Conceptual
2. Describe how opera originated in Italy and then spread throughout Europe, including England. Be
sure to include the names of composers and works.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 96–97
TOP: Baroque Opera MSC: Applied