# * What's the connection between these opera's? Can you figure it out? *



## Mezzo (Oct 4, 2018)

What's the connecting theme between these opera's?

There may be more thank one.

A theme may not necessarily use all 5 of the opera's....


* Candide - Bernstein

* Beatrice & Benedict - Berlioz

* Merry wives of Windsor - Nicolai

* L'elisir d'amore - Donizetti

* Midsummer Night's Dream - Britten


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Three of them are based on Shakespeare.


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## Biffo (Mar 7, 2016)

Three of them - Berlioz, Nicolai & Britten are based on Shakespeare. Three of them involve quarrelling lovers - Berlioz, Britten & Donizetti - they are either quarrelling or feigning indifference. In Nicolai and Britten the lovers finally come together in a forest.

I have seen Candide many years ago but can't remember much about it. Just checked - it has lovers who become separated but finally reunited - cf. Britten and Nicolai (kept apart rather than separated).


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Each of the five come from different countries/are in different languages (if you count British English and American English). The five countries are:

USA
France
Germany
Italy
UK

The five countries make up the G5. That's my theme.

N.


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## davidglasgow (Aug 19, 2017)

Mezzo said:


> What's the connecting theme between these opera's?
> 
> There may be more thank one.
> 
> ...


I was trying to think of similarities but only some of the works are in focus

Librettos - Bernstein was composer and also contributed to the libretto for _Candide_, Berlioz wrote the libretto for _Beatrice & Benedict_, Britten wrote his own libretto for _Midsummer Night's Dream_ with Peter Pears - Nicolai and Donizetti don't fit unless the theme is re-using old stories since _L'elisir d'amore_ has a libretto by Romani but apparently inspired by Scribe

Other posters have already suggested the stories are based on plays by Shakespeare for Berlioz, Nicolai and Britten. _Candide_ is based on Voltaire so there could be a poetry/literature link.

When I see _L'elisir d'amore_ mentioned I remember that it references the story of Tristan und Isolde - I don't know the other works well enough to know if they involve meta-references to other love stories as well...

Interesting quiz!


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

Their librettists don't form plurals with apostrophe-s?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

The all include someone drinking a bit too much alcohol (guessing as i don't know all of these operas).


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