THE QUIZ

This month’s quiz is a particularly tasty one… 1. In which opera, premiered in 1904, does Cio-cio-san, a 15-yearold Japanese girl, marry and then get deserted by Pinkerton, a caddish US naval officer?

2. Scored for soprano, clarinet and piano, in which 1828 song by Schubert does the title character sing of the loneliness of his existence as he longs for spring?

3. In Greek mythology, the nymph Syrinx is turned into reeds to help her escape the amorous intentions of which Greek god, who then turns her into a set of musical pipes?

4. Name the cities in which you will find these venues: a) Teatro Carlo Felice; b) Caird Hall; c) The Taras Shevchenko National Opera House 5. Who is the Spanish soprano (1923-2005) pictured above?

6. Tahiti Trot is a much-loved orchestral arrangement by Shostakovich of which song from the musical No, No, Nanette?

7. Of which opera company was the Russian conductor Tugan Sokhiev appointed music director at the age of just 26 in 2003, but lasted in post less than a year?

8. Which US poet’s musical dabblings included an opera, The Testament of François Villon, which was broadcast by the BBC in 1931? 9. Following a multi-million dollar lawsuit, which popular song, whose origins date back to the 19th century, was declared by a US court in 2016 to be in the public domain?

10. Taking one word from each of the above nine questions (and all three from Question 4), name the theme that runs through this month’s quiz.