Chapter 41: Total Art: Wagner and German Romantic Opera
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following characterizes Singspiel?
a. It was preceded by the German Romantic opera.
b. It featured elaborate recitatives and arias.
c. The plots were generally dark.
d. Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is an example of this genre.
2. Which composer is considered the greatest figure in German opera and one of the most significant
in the history of the Romantic era?
a. Brahms c. Wagner
b. Schubert d. Schumann
3. Wagner’s first operatic success was an opera entitled:
a. The Flying Dutchman. c. Rienzi.
b. Tristan and Isolde. d. Faust.
4. Who wrote the librettos for Wagner’s music dramas?
a. Goethe. c. Müller.
b. Heine. d. Wagner.
5. Which of the following is an opera from the Ring cycle?
a. Siegfried c. Der fliegende Holländer
b. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg d. Lohengrin
6. Wagner chose to base his early operas on:
a. dramas of historical intrigue. c. ancient Greek tragedies.
b. medieval German epics. d. Biblical stories.
7. Wagner’s cycle of four music dramas is called:
a. Lohengrin. c. The Ring of the Nibelung.
b. Tristan and Isolde. d. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
8. A special theater was built at _____ for the presentation of Wagner’s music dramas.
a. Dresden c. Berlin
b. Munich d. Bayreuth
9. In his Ring of the Nibelung, which characteristic of traditional opera did Wagner eliminate?
a. separate arias c. the overture
b. the orchestra d. costumes
10. The concept of a total artwork in which all the arts—music, poetry, drama, and visual
spectacle—are fused together is called:
a. Gesamtkunstwerk. c. Ewigemelodie.
b. leitmotifs. d. cyclic unity.
11. Which of the following composers created the music drama?
a. Wagner c. Brahms
b. Liszt d. Verdi
12. Wagner called his operas:
a. tone poems. c. oratorios.
b. music dramas. d. operettas.
13. The principal themes that recur throughout Wagner’s operas and carry specific meanings are
called:
a. libretti. c. motives.
b. leitmotifs. d. fixed ideas.
14. Wagner based his musical language on:
a. chromatic harmony. c. monophonic harmony.
b. diatonic harmony. d. atonal harmony.
15. The emotional quality of Wagner’s music is heightened by his use of:
a. separate arias. c. chromatic dissonance.
b. exotic instruments. d. rubato.
16. In the Ring cycle, who is the father of the gods?
a. Siegfried c. Wotan
b. Loge d. Brünnhilde
17. In Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung, who are the Valkyries?
a. the nine daughters of Wotan c. the Rhine maidens
b. the Nibelung dwarfs d. the enemies of Wotan
18. In Act III, Scene 1 of Die Walküre, what are the Valkyries carrying on their horses?
a. weapons of war c. armor
b. fallen heroes d. slain foes
19. In the orchestral prelude to Act III of Wagner’s Die Walküre, the Ride theme primarily is played
by:
a. strings. c. brass.
b. woodwinds. d. percussion.
20. Why does Wotan deprive Brünnhilde of her immortality and leave her sleeping inside a ring of
fire?
a. because she drew the sword out of the stone
b. because, overcome with compassion, she attempted to save Siegmund’s life in battle
c. because she fell in love with a mastersinger of Nuremburg
d. because she allowed her winged horse, Pegasus, to die in battle
21. Who established the idea that multimedia can convey multiple meanings at once?
a. Richard Wagner c. W. A. Mozart
b. Giuseppe Verdi d. none of the answers shown here
22. A scene in German musical theater that contains spoken dialogue or minimal singing but also
features striking orchestral accompaniment to intensify the dramatic effect of the words is called:
a. melodrama. c. Gesamtkuntswerk.
b. leitmotif. d. Nibelungenlied.
23. Where was Wagner born?
a. France c. Germany
b. England d. Austria
TRUE/FALSE
1. Richard Wagner composed the first Singspiel.
2. Because of his dominating personality, Wagner frequently changed librettists while composing his
music dramas.
3. Wagner’s operas employ the supernatural as an element of drama and glorify the German land and
people.
4. Wagner did not wish to change the prevailing form of opera in the nineteenth century.
5. Wagner strove for a continuous flow of melody, unlike the divisions of aria and recitative in Italian
opera.
6. The focal point of Wagnerian music drama is the voice.
7. Wagner pushed major-minor tonality to extreme limits with his style of chromatic harmony.
8. In Wagner’s operas, the recurring themes, which represent specific characters, emotions, or ideas,
are called leitmotifs.
9. In Wagner’s Ring operas, Brünnhilde is Wotan’s wife.
10. One of the leitmotifs from Wagner’s Die Walküre is the “magic fire” music.
11. Wagner developed an “endless melody” that was molded to the natural inflections of the German
language.
12. J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings was inspired by Norse mythology and Wagner’s Ring.
13. In the final scene of Die Walküre, Wagner uses a leitmotif to introduce a character who has not
even been born.
ESSAY
1. Describe Wagner’s innovations in opera and his desire to unite music and drama. Give examples
from works mentioned in the textbook.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 3 REF: Essentials: pp. 227–230
TOP: Wagner Opera MSC: Applied
2. Discuss how contemporary film, television, or video games incorporate Wagner’s concept of
leitmotif.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 228–229
TOP: Wagner Opera MSC: Applied