Saturday, August 01, 2009

[saturday quiz] know your operette and musicals




1. Which G&S ran the following:

But though the compliment implied
Inflates me with legitimate pride,
It nevertheless can't be denied
That it has its inconvenient side.
For I'm not so old, and not so plain,
And I'm quite prepared to marry again,
But there'd be the deuce to pay in the Lords
If I fell in love with one of my Wards!
Which rather tries my temper, for
I'm such a susceptible Chancellor!

Chorus:

Which rather tries his temper, for
He's such a susceptible Chancellor!

2. Which R&H ran the following:

Your servant! Your servant!
Indeed I'm not you servant --
Although you give me less than servant's pay --
I'm a free and independent employé
...(sigh) employee.

Because I'm a woman
You think, like ev'ry woman
I have to be a slave or concubine.
You conceited, self-indulgent libertine! ...(sigh)
libertine!

3. How much did Eliza offer, take it or leave it?

An Englishman's way of speaking
absolutely classifies him
The moment he talks
he makes some other
Englishman despise him
One common language
I'm afraid we'll never get
Oh, why can't the English
learn to

Set a good example
to people whose English
Is painful to your ears
The Scotch and the Irish
leave you close to tears
There even are places where
English completely disappears
Well, in America, they
haven't used it for years
Why can't the English teach
their children how to speak

Norwegians learn Norwegian
The Greeks are taught
their Greek
In France, every Frenchman
knows his language
from "A" to "zed"

The French don't care
what they do, actually, as long
as they pronounce it properly.

Arabians learn Arabian with
the speed of summer lightning
The Hebrews learn it backwards
which is absolutely frightening

Use proper English
You're regarded as a freak
Oh, why can't the English
Why can't the English learn
To speak?

4. Opera and year please:

If I told you what it takes
to reach the highest high,
You'd laugh and say 'nothing's that simple'
But you've been told many times before
Messiahs pointed to the door
And no one had the guts to leave the temple!

I'm free-I'm free
And freedom tastes of reality
I'm free-I'm free
And I'm waiting for you to follow me.

5. Book by Stein, music by Bock - lyrics by?

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles-
God took the tailor by the hand
Turned him around and- miracle of miracles- Led him to the promised land!
When David slew Goliath (yes!), that was a miracle.
When God gave us manna in the wilderness, that was a miracle too.
But of all God's miracles large and small,
The most miraculous one of all
Is the one I thought could never be:
God has given you to me.

Answers

Iolanthe, The King and I, one shilling, Tommy [1969], Harnick

3 comments:

  1. I didn't know any again...

    But I have sung and performed in the Mikado does that count?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It all counts. I wasn't sure if there were any G&S or R&H fans who visit so I thought I'd give it a try.

    ReplyDelete

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