Interesting Introductions
a quiz for the weekend ….. and beyond!
Another little quiz to tease your ears. This time we have 6 disguised introductions to famous arias,
5 of which have something in common.
What are they?
Which is the odd one out?
and why?
In one way this may be easier to listen to because I have cut out synthesized sounds and stuck to piano but ….. I know there are regular contestants who just love “twiddly bits” so you may hear quite a few! On the other hand I have included some images which some may find a little distracting!! … I know I had to concentrate very hard whilst compiling!
Answers in the comment box please – some of you are getting really good at this!
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WE ARE NEARLY THERE …. but here is a helpful hint:-
The common opera is for imminent release!
….. hope it helps!
Images are stills from La Clemenza di Tito , Salzburg 2003.
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GOOD LUCK and …..
HAVE A WONDERFUL WHITE SHIRT WEEKEND!
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The answers are in and the list is now complete …..
1. Di, cor mio – Alcina
2. Tornami a vagheggiar – Morgana from Alcina
3. Scherza infida in grembo al drudo – Ariodante
4. Verdi prati, selve amene, perderete la belta. Ruggiero.
5. Mi lusinga il dolce affetto. – Ruggiero
6. Ah ! mio cor, schernito sei ! Alcina
So, as you can see they are all arias from Handel’s “Alicina” except for number 3 which is from “Ariodante”
Now that the list is complete why not have a listen again and see if you too can spot the aria. If you are not familiar with the originals then why not look them up on YouTube – you will be glad you did!
ah, teacher, i’ve gotten through the video twice, vhat niiice images… and more childhood memory, this time of Richard Clayderman! My daddy used to play his cd alternating with Paul Mauriat’s… anyhow, i can’t hear anything _yet_! will be back!
The first “preliminary attempt” is in, so well done to the student who is eating a lot of icecream because of the heat!!
Another “preliminary guess” …. It seems students are hedging their bets. But I have to say that both sides of the Atlantic are on the right track.
AND – I don’t remember mentioning MEZZO arias young Smorg.
THIS ARRIVED FIRST
Really, Eyes, you are making ears of us!
My ears aren’t working very well at the moment, so just a preliminary attempt first… I’m pretty sure about #1, 4, 5 since I’ve been listening to the Studio Faroa CD set lately and have Alcina in my head… The trouble is, Harteros’ Alcina is so in my head at the moment I have a hard time popping other music into the cranium at the moment. It all just keep reverting into one of her (or Ruggiero’s) arias. 
Darn the earworms!
1. Parto, parto ben mio
2. Se Romeo t’uccise son figlio
3. Scherza infida in grembo al drudo
4. Verdi prati, selve amene, perderete la belta.
5. Mi lusinga il dolce affetto
6.
Hope you’re having a good weekend! Helped my roommate wash her car this afternoon and we both were just about melted to puddles by the time we were done. Having ice-cream in place of meals and am loving it.
THIS ARRIVED SECOND
Hello Miss, my preliminary guesses are
1) Che faro senza Euridice – Orfeo & Euridice 2) Tornami a vagheggiar – Morgana from Alcina
4) Verdi Prati – Ruggerio – Alcina
not sure of the others yet will have another listen soon – although no 3 was very evocative of some 1930s slightly smoky, slightly sultry nightclub in Paris !!
THIS ARRIVED THIRD
I need to revise Ruggero… easy with Vesselina and Smorgy’s channel.
Teacher and cleverest pianist, 4 is too good, makes me feel like strolling down ‘Verdi pratti’;
2-sta nell incarna with of course Smorgy’s vdeo… the best!
could the odd man out be ‘ah ! mio cor’ Alcina, 5?
There’s Mi lusinga too but I’ve lost tracks…. 1 may be ?
the back and white shots are smashing!
Sorry, I get confused , but it is a wonderful game ! thank you dear musician! I am on my way to Salzburg and I’ll miss you all!
You are going to Salzburg?? !!! What will you see there in the way of performance? Lucky you – have a fabulous time and travel safely.
jes, i jealous, salzburg!! what will you see there?
A visitor from France is also well on the way to some exciting answers!!
THIS ARRIVED FOURTH
Ah Miss, some more guesses in my best handwriting -
3) Chi m’insegna il caro padre ? – Oberto
5) Sta nell’ircana – Ruggerio
6) Ah ! mio cor, schernito sei ! Alcina
Is the connection Alcina ?- got a bit distracted by the pictures but I shut my eyes tight !
Come now young Sarah. You really must not be distracted in this way – concentrate really hard ( and then look at the pictures
)
Ah, my mistake, maestra mia, shouldn’t have assumed the voice Fach too soon!
Better use more ear and less other stuff, ay? Let’s see…
1. Parto, ma tu ben mio (Sesto)
2. Tornami a vahegghiar (Morgana)
3. Chi m’insegna il caro Padre (Oberto)
4. Verdi prati, selve amene (Ruggiero)
5. Mi lusinga il dolce affetto (Ruggiero)
6. Ah, mio cor (Alcina)
So, the connection has gotta be arias from Handel’s Alcina, and #1 Sesto is the odd man out.
Gotta say, Sarah, you’re an A student!
Hello to Dr. T & Yvette, too!
What are you others thinking ? Is Smorgy correct on all counts or is there still some way to go?
No extra clues just yet!
Monday’s results:
As yet no one student has all the correct answers but MOST of the answers are there between you. You may have to look at other’s suggestions and see what you think!
)
Richard Clayderman does not feature
I am going to change one of my answers and go with Smorg
1) Parto, parto – La Clemenza so the odd fellow out would be ahhh Sesto of course !
I hope the weather is a bit fresher in Smorgland now !
I fear, young Sarah, you could be lead astray by Smorg. Excellent student and musician that she is – not all is as it may seem. Perhaps you should study Parto by listening to Miss’s quiz on the subject. Or even do more homework with the dvd ? – far from onerous study.
D’oh ! Of course 1) Doppo Notte so it’s Ariodante !!
Doppo what?
Sorry Miss Dopo Notte then !
I’m trying my best but I don’t speak Italian or read music being a Bear of very little brain !
I have to confess I am struggling to hear anything of Dopo Notte OR Parto in extract #1.
Do not be despondent young Sarah – you certainly are NOT a small-brained bear ( even a polar bear) This is nothing to do with language skills or ability to read music but more to do with fathoming the warped sense of humour of the person who chose the topic and compiled the quiz.
So- for all contestants, here is a BIG CLUE ……
The common opera is for imminent release!
Where are you Dr. T.? …. This should be right up your street!! And don’t forget that the tune you seek is always in the middle. Cryptic enough??
Ach ! I am no match for the fiendish brain of the so called “Eyes”. I surrender !!
OK. Let’s see what the others have got. But when you know how near you were you may kick yourself!
Arrgggh! My shirt is white, but my flag isn’t quite yet.
Have a feeling I ought to start doing some serious stretching to make sure that my legs are flexible enough to kick my own rear with them. Right now I’m so stiff from roaming around a hilly golf course yesterday I can’t even touch my own knees! 
ah, wow, a “clue” for me, let me go listen teacher… in the middle you say… big delay of course thanks to this “response to reviewers” write up
hee, i was looking for a synthesizer thingie on the machine to tune down this BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM from the piano that takes all my attention
, but let me toss out a wild guess: oh patria from tancredi?
Hey Dr T and Smorg. Just back from rehearsal again with still the problem of the missing keyboard player. Ah well – the others will just have to play more notes
Really glad that you are not giving up just yet and hoping that Smorg doesn’t need the flexibility to kick herself at all!
If I were you I would have a look at all the suggestions made so far and see if you can hear those particular tunes – don’t let the introductions to the introductions throw you.
Think outside the box with the “imminent release” clue!!
Non vi è Tancredi a questo quiz!
The news of the imminent release made my day ! I will be ordering DVD toute suite ! Still no idea what track 1 was but other guesses I hope are in the right ball park or opera even . Not sure what the Duchess of Devonshire has to do with the plot ??
Who cares about the Duchess of Devonshire!
. although the costumes for the openning of Act 1 are very fetching. I will also be joining the queue for the DVD. The guesses were definitely the right opera which is why I thought Dr T ( an expert in this opera, having seen it live more than once!!!!!! ) might get some of the answers. – lack of time I guess.
So – Smorgy and Dr T, now we have confirmed the opera, can you get #1 and the odd one out?
Well done, young Sarah. It looks like you are starting to fathom the mad mascinations of Miss’s mind!
A wild shot… Let’s say #1 is Alcina’s ‘Di, cor mio’ and the odd one out is #6 (Ah, mio cor) for portraying the instrumental background instead of the singing part?
I’ve been stretching so I think I can pretty much kick my own butt now.
How are you at kicking half a butt?
The first track is indeed Di, cor mio and I bet if the others listen in then they will say Aaaaahhh of course.
However, the odd one out is still up for grabs. for portraying the instrumental background instead of the singing part? …. Remember that it is instrumental intros that we are looking for although the vocal often imitates what has gone before. Contestants may need to list all the arias in order to identify which one it is – I think the waters have got a little muddied.
You are like a terrier with a bone when you stuck into these challenges, aren’t you Smorg? Excellent listening and detective skills.
hehe, excellent indeed. i can confirm to you now i can NOT hear anything, not last quiz, not this quiz. even after you have listed all the tunes, i still don’ t hear
. there’s a reason i can’t hear “1″ in dancing after so many years attempting it seems. whatever the reason is, i’ll enjoy sneaking in to hear what you gals conclude 
ps- and when my name was being mentioned next to smorgy, i was just silently hoping she’d show up to answer all questions
Perhaps your visual perception is keener than your audio perception because, if I remember rightly, you were an absolute wizard at the photo quizes – even if you did have some Canadian assistance
Anyway it looks as if it’s down to Smorgy and Sarah to round this one off. It’s a pity they live on different sides of the planet – they could solve it together.
canadian assistance? NO NO NO, i did it entirely on my own
Yeah, right!
1. Di, cor mio (Alcina)
2. Tornami a vaghegghiar (Morgana)
3. Chi m’insegna il caro Padre (Oberto)
4. Verdi prati, selve amene (Ruggiero)
5. Mi lusinga il dolce affetto (Ruggiero)
6. Ah, mio cor (Alcina)
So, Morgana’s aria is the odd one out for being the only cheerful piece in the bunch?
Gnawing restlessly on my bone… ;D Puzzles sure bug the heck out of me when they aren’t completely solved!
Prepare to be bugged just a little longer – just one aria is wrong and hence the odd one out is also wrong. Actually, Smorg, you had me doubting myself and I had to “play it again Sam” but I’ am sure and I wrote everything down at the time of compilation. Don’t bury that bone just yet.
looking at that list, the odd one could be the one out of order
Sounds like one of my cryptic clues!
blu-ray or no blu-ray, that is the question…
i can’t be buying a disc and then have to buy a player and a TV to watch it with!
Good question, Maestra T.
My roommate has a blu-ray player, but it doesn’t play all the blu-ray discs. Apparently the newer discs require updated system. 
The ones that play sure look and sound good, though. I’m still sticking with DVDs, though… Can play that anywhere and even lend to fellow low-tech neighbors. 
I need a terminator!
How about #3 being Sesto’s ‘Deh, per questo istante solo’ instead? (and he’d be the oddball out, of course).
… massaging my half-kicked butt…
I’m starting a new box as they are getting smaller and skinnier.
Right number – wrong opera /charater. I’m off to bed. See you in a few hours. Nessun dorma?
PS. The correct answer has already been mentioned.
One last gnaw before retiring for the night… Guess we were using the wrong segment of #3 when we came up with Oberto (the last part instead of in the middle). So….the intro to ‘Se Romeo t’uccise son figlio ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8P7AYbF6S4&t=2m10s )?
Nah, I hadn’t been working on that all this time. I’m not that good a student!
Was busy editing a client’s very crafty website all evening (she added a bunch of photos of different sizes all over the place and left me some really messy pages of html to fix…. Ugggh!).
Now I’m feeling REALLY MEAN. I thought that extract 3 was pretty easy since it is in a Minor key So I’m afraid that Romeo, much as I enjoyed revisiting your YT video, is not the character you you are looking for.
HINT … a much recorded and sung-out-of-context aria and the melody starts at 1.50 my video, after a long intro.
Please don’t gnaw too hard!!
Sometimes first instincts are best.
Ugghh… It’s Ariodante’s Scherza infida after all.
The bassoon honking part! You went all Baroque! 
So… am I allowed to go and drown that melancholy dude for good as a reward? The water off the California coast is more suitable for sinking than in the North Sea, I think. 
Well done that gal! Number 3 is Scherza Infida and therefore the odd one out. You folks descended on here all in a bunch at the same time – while I was out on a gig. So in the morning I will put up all the correct answers to inspire other competitors. You see ….. you got there in the end . Well done and thank you so much for taking part – it’s no fun without you!!
Feel free to do some drowning if you wish, Smorgy!
Throwing away my white flag for another guess based on the last clue
“Ombra mai fu” ??
Well done for recanting, young Sarah but I’m afraid Smorg was right all along. Watch out tomorrow for a complete list of correct answers.
Sorry to but in again but re DVD of said opera I noticed it first on Presto Classical site which appears to offer both formats whilst Amazon at present only has blu-ray.
Sound advice to prospective purchasers. You may like to repost this comment when you see White Shirt Weekend post tomorrow
Awesome! Thanks, Sarah.
I get a bit apprehensive sometimes buying DVDs from Europe (will my DVD player play the thing???). One really sucky thing about living in the US is that we always have to wait longer for releases like this (and that VK book that’s coming out won’t be available here until like a year later than the German release date).
Can’t wait for the next quiz, Eyes. Thanks a bunch for being so patient with us. It musta been a bit trying for you withholding the answers until everyone had given up or the quiz is solved.
Don’t you just love the way that Smorg, fount of all Kasovarian Knowledge, throws in the casual remark … VK Book?
. 
. 
WHAAAAATTT !!!
Details please…… NOW.
Er… she is writing a book with Dr. Marianne Zelger-Vogt (former critic at Neue Zürcher Zeitung), a sort of memoir mostly on singing and the opera business. It’s supposed to be published by Bärenreiter this October (in German, then English translation much later). She mentioned it in a Bulgarian interview earlier in the year.
I must sign up for German classes this autumn. Thank you Smorg – what would we do without you?
yes, vhat would we do indeed! i sign up for the class with you Eyes. g’night.
“…what would we do without you?”
Lots of googling!
I should get brushed up on my German, too. But if anything we have Anik and Suspa to help us out with difficult passages, I think.
(And I think our Salzburg-bound Yvette also speaks German).
“What would we do without you “. I’ve actually just finished a gig featuring that song from Sondheim. It was the finale at last year’s Sondheim Prom and is on YT. I must have been subconsciously influenced!
My thoughts exactly a book ?? That of course will mean pictures as well !
Re my post on DVD I’d forgotten about the regional differences with DVDs but some machines play both don’t they ?? I think what I meant to say was shop around ! What we need now I think is a decent DVD of Ariodante though I agree he is quite infuriating . I wonder how Yvette did in the quiz & what she saw in Salzburg?
Hey Sarah: I ended up ordering via the US Amazon, so my copy should be playable here indeed. It’s so tricky, this buying foreign versions of DVD business. I have a supposed ‘all region’ player, but it only plays NTSC formatted discs and not PAL ones.
Luckily the laptop would play just about anything except for the bluray disc. 
Hey Yvette … you are a long way up at the top of the page ^ but do tell us about Salzburg . If you do a post perhaps? Just make us all very, very envious!