The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Meet the Met. Here is a historical pop quiz about the Metropolitan Opera from NPR. But don’t grow complacent because the labor disputes are settled. Troubles are far from over, says one expert.

By Jacob Stockinger

Now that the labor strife is over and the new season at the Metropolitan Opera (below) will open on time after all, it is time to lighten up and shout out a bit.

But no one should be naïve. And no one should get too complacent. Even with the labor negotiations now settled, the future may not be so rosy for the Met, or for other big opera companies:

Here is a commentary in The Wall Street Journal by the acclaimed cultural historian Joseph Horowitz (below, speaking in Madison in 2011) who, you may recall, came to Madison to open the Pro Arte Quartet’s centennial celebration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison three years ago:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/joseph-horowitz-union-trouble-isnt-the-mets-only-problem-1407537082

Still, this season will go on, starting on Oct. 27 with Giuseppe Verdi‘s epic “Aida.” So to see how much you know about the Met –- The Ear finds that opera fans, like sports fans, are vast repositories of historical trivia and statistics.

Try this quiz, based on historical facts, about the Met that was posted by NPR (National Public Radio:

But a word of advice or warning: Make sure your speakers are turned on or use headphones, since sound is an integral part of the quiz:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/08/20/318464055/the-music-geek-s-met-opera-puzzler