The famous sextet in Act II Finale belongs to which opera?

• A. The Magic Flute
• B. The Marriage of Figaro
• C. Don Giovanni
• D. Così fan tutte

Answer: (B)

This item tests your familiarity with Mozart’s standout ensemble writing, where multiple characters share the stage in a tightly woven, six-voice finale. In The Marriage of Figaro, the Act II Finale culminates in a famous sextet in which Figaro, Susanna, the Count, the Countess, Don Bartolo, and Marcellina (among others in some productions) thread their lines together in overlapping, conversational music. This sextet is celebrated for how the voices continually answer and echo one another, creating a dense, comic, and dramatically revealing tapestry that moves the plot forward and heightens the tension between social roles and misunderstandings.

The other operas feature memorable ensembles and vivid textures, but none are as famously identified with a six-voice sextet in an Act II Finale as this one is. The Magic Flute has remarkable ensemble moments, Don Giovanni centers on dramatic scenes and the statue episode, and Così fan tutte includes fine ensembles as well, but the celebrated six-part finale sextet most often points to The Marriage of Figaro.