Quizmo

Quiz on Opera

20 questions · June 28, 2026

Below is the full Quizmo quiz devoted to the theme "Opera": each question, its four options, the correct answer highlighted and, where available, its source. A chance to brush up on your general knowledge and then test what you know.

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Question 1

Easy

What is the highest female singing voice in opera called?

Source: Sopranos reach the highest notes; the word comes from the Italian for 'above'.

Question 2

Easy

What is opera's term for a solo song expressing a character's emotions?

Source: An aria is the showpiece moment where the drama pauses and the music soars.

Question 3

Easy

Which composer wrote the opera 'The Magic Flute'?

Source: Mozart finished 'The Magic Flute' just months before his death in 1791.

Question 4

Easy

The opera 'Carmen' takes place in which country?

Source: Bizet was French, but his fiery heroine Carmen lives and loves in Seville, Spain.

Question 5

Easy

What word describes a celebrated, often temperamental female opera star?

Source: 'Diva' is simply Italian for 'goddess', a fitting name for opera's leading ladies.

Question 6

Easy

Which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical features a masked man haunting a Paris theatre?

Source: 'The Phantom of the Opera' premiered in London's West End in 1986 and became a global hit.

Question 7

Easy

Which city is home to the legendary La Scala opera house?

Source: Milan's La Scala, opened in 1778, is opera's most legendary stage.

Question 8

Easy

Verdi's opera 'Aida' is set in which ancient civilization?

Source: 'Aida' unfolds amid pharaohs and pyramids in ancient Egypt.

Question 9

Easy

What honorific is traditionally given to an opera conductor?

Source: 'Maestro' means 'master' in Italian, reserved for the one wielding the baton.

Question 10

Easy

Which composer created the four-opera 'Ring' cycle?

Source: Wagner's 'Ring' spans four operas and roughly 15 hours of music.

Question 11

Medium

Which opera house is famous for its sail-shaped shells on a harbour?

Source: Sydney Opera House's sail-like shells took 14 years to build and ran wildly over budget.

Question 12

Medium

What is the name for the written words of an opera?

Source: The score is the music; the libretto is the text, literally 'little book' in Italian.

Question 13

Medium

Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras toured together as the famous Three...?

Source: The Three Tenors' concerts, launched in 1990, sold millions of albums worldwide.

Question 14

Medium

What should you shout to praise a female opera singer?

Source: Italian is gendered: shout 'brava' to a woman and 'bravi' to the whole cast.

Question 15

Medium

Which opera's story inspired the hit Broadway musical 'Rent'?

Source: 'La Boheme' and its starving Paris artists were reborn as the rock musical 'Rent'.

Question 16

Medium

The famous aria 'Nessun dorma' comes from which opera?

Source: 'Nessun dorma' from 'Turandot' became a global anthem after the 1990 World Cup.

Question 17

Medium

Which opera centers on a court jester and his daughter Gilda?

Source: Verdi's 'Rigoletto' turns a mocking court jester into opera's most tragic father.

Question 18

Hard

Which Bizet opera flopped at its 1875 premiere before becoming a classic?

Source: 'Carmen' was coolly received in 1875; Bizet died months later, never seeing it conquer the world.

Question 19

Hard

Which Russian composer wrote the opera 'Eugene Onegin'?

Source: Tchaikovsky turned Pushkin's verse novel 'Eugene Onegin' into a beloved Russian opera.

Question 20

Hard

Which composer wrote only a single opera, the German 'Fidelio'?

Source: Beethoven wrote just one opera, 'Fidelio', and rewrote it obsessively for years.

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