Arthur Sullivan Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In what year was Arthur Sullivan born?
A. 1832
B. 1842
C. 1852
D. 1862
Answer: B. 1842
Q2. Where was Arthur Sullivan born?
A. Lambeth, London
B. Dublin, Ireland
C. Manchester, England
D. Edinburgh, Scotland
Answer: A. Lambeth, London
Q3. What was the profession of Arthur Sullivan’s father, Thomas Sullivan?
A. Painter
B. Military bandmaster and clarinettist
C. Lawyer
D. Merchant
Answer: B. Military bandmaster and clarinettist
Q4. At what age did Arthur Sullivan compose his first anthem, “By the Waters of Babylon”?
A. Six
B. Ten
C. Eight
D. Twelve
Answer: C. Eight
Q5. In 1854, Arthur Sullivan joined which choir as a soloist treble?
A. Westminster Abbey Choir
B. St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir
C. Chapel Royal Choir
D. King’s College Choir
Answer: C. Chapel Royal Choir
Q6. What scholarship did Arthur Sullivan win in 1856, allowing him to study at the Royal Academy of Music?
A. Beethoven Scholarship
B. Mendelssohn Scholarship
C. Wagner Scholarship
D. Bach Scholarship
Answer: B. Mendelssohn Scholarship
Q7. Arthur Sullivan studied at which conservatory in Germany from 1858 onward?
A. Berlin Conservatory
B. Munich Conservatory
C. Leipzig Conservatoire
D. Vienna Conservatory
Answer: C. Leipzig Conservatoire
Q8. What was Arthur Sullivan’s graduation piece at the Leipzig Conservatoire in 1861?
A. Symphony in E
B. Incidental music to The Tempest
C. Cello Concerto
D. Overture di Ballo
Answer: B. Incidental music to The Tempest
Q9. In what year was Arthur Sullivan’s Symphony in E, also known as the Irish Symphony, composed?
A. 1864
B. 1868
C. 1866
D. 1870
Answer: C. 1866
Q10. What was the title of Arthur Sullivan’s first comic opera, written in 1866 with F.C. Burnand?
A. The Sorcerer
B. Cox and Box
C. The Contrabandista
D. Trial by Jury
Answer: B. Cox and Box
Q11. With whom did Arthur Sullivan form his most famous collaboration for comic operas?
A. W.S. Gilbert
B. F.C. Burnand
C. Sydney Grundy
D. Basil Hood
Answer: A. W.S. Gilbert
Q12. What was the first Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, a Christmas burlesque opera performed in 1871?
A. Trial by Jury
B. Thespis
C. The Sorcerer
D. H.M.S. Pinafore
Answer: B. Thespis
Q13. In what year did Gilbert and Sullivan’s hit operetta Trial by Jury premiere?
A. 1873
B. 1877
C. 1875
D. 1879
Answer: C. 1875
Q14. Which Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, premiering in 1878, ran for 571 performances and featured songs like “I Am the Captain of the Pinafore”?
A. The Pirates of Penzance
B. Patience
C. H.M.S. Pinafore
D. Iolanthe
Answer: C. H.M.S. Pinafore
Q15. What is the setting of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, which premiered in 1879?
A. A Cornish coast with pirates
B. A Japanese town
C. A fairy realm in England
D. A ship at sea
Answer: A. A Cornish coast with pirates
Q16. Which 1881 Gilbert and Sullivan operetta satirizes the Aesthetic Movement and features the character Bunthorne?
A. The Mikado
B. Patience
C. Princess Ida
D. Ruddigore
Answer: B. Patience
Q17. In Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe from 1882, what is the central conflict involving the title character?
A. A pirate’s duty
B. A women’s university
C. Fairies versus peers in Parliament
D. Ghosts in a village
Answer: C. Fairies versus peers in Parliament
Q18. Which Gilbert and Sullivan work from 1884 is based on Tennyson’s poem “The Princess” and features a women’s university?
A. Princess Ida
B. The Yeomen of the Guard
C. The Gondoliers
D. Utopia, Limited
Answer: A. Princess Ida
Q19. What is the most famous song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, premiering in 1885?
A. “Tit Willow”
B. “I’ve Got a Little List”
C. Both A and B
D. “A Wand’ring Minstrel I”
Answer: C. Both A and B
Q20. Which 1887 Gilbert and Sullivan operetta was originally titled Ruddygore but changed due to public reaction?
A. Ruddigore
B. The Grand Duke
C. The Beauty Stone
D. Haddon Hall
Answer: A. Ruddigore
Q21. What famous hymn did Arthur Sullivan compose in 1871, later adopted by the Salvation Army?
A. Nearer, My God, to Thee
B. Onward, Christian Soldiers
C. The Lost Chord
D. The Long Day Closes
Answer: B. Onward, Christian Soldiers
Q22. In 1877, Arthur Sullivan composed which popular parlour song that became one of his most famous non-operetta works?
A. The Absent-Minded Beggar
B. The Lost Chord
C. Orpheus with his Lute
D. Oh! Hush thee, my Babie
Answer: B. The Lost Chord
Q23. What was the title of Arthur Sullivan’s grand opera from 1891, based on Walter Scott’s novel?
A. Ivanhoe
B. Haddon Hall
C. The Rose of Persia
D. The Emerald Isle
Answer: A. Ivanhoe
Q24. Which oratorio by Arthur Sullivan, composed in 1873, depicts the life of Jesus?
A. The Prodigal Son
B. The Light of the World
C. The Martyr of Antioch
D. The Golden Legend
Answer: B. The Light of the World
Q25. What ballet did Arthur Sullivan compose in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee?
A. L’Île Enchantée
B. Victoria and Merrie England
C. The Masque at Kenilworth
D. Pineapple Poll
Answer: B. Victoria and Merrie England