Can you Name That Opera based on these summaries? (Answers below.)

1. @urbanophile - Ur a psycho but I married you anyway. “Don’t ask me about my business.” Sorry, I gots to know. Ok, it’s Door #7 for you, bitch.
2. @otterhouse - If a cigarette doesn’t kill you, the girl who made it will…
3. @ogiovetti - Any port in a storm. Tall dark and mysterious wants my daughter. She wants to save him, but can she be faithful? Splashy splashy.

(Answers: 1. Bluebeard’s Castle; 2. Carmen; 3.The Flying Dutchman)

For those of you living near an opera house, last week provided a tangible reason to be on Twitter, or at least to be following a certain classical music blog called The Omniscient Mussel. For the second time, “Miss Mussel” has launched a contest called #operaplot, awarding prizes for the best opera plot summaries in 140 characters or fewer. (Why 140 characters? That’s the size limit of a Twitter update. Worse, the 140 characters had to include the “#operaplot” hash tag – these tags allow others who are interested in that subject matter can follow the conversation.)

In this second contest, soprano Danielle de Niese will award prizes from about 30 opera companies – generally free tickets, and a one-year free subscription to the Met Player from Metropolitan Opera. Some more favorite entries are below.

Why am I only telling you about this now that entries are closed? Well, I was “offline”(i.e. not on Twitter and not reading non-work blogs) most of last week due to illness and time commitments and I missed the whole thing! On the plus side, now you can read all the entries at once — and I’ll tell you how not to miss the promised next contest.

To follow the next contest:

Manually search Twitter for “#operaplot” here. Not the best ongoing option, since you have to proactively think to do it, but it’s the easiest way to check out this thing and see if you’re interested and amused by it.

Subscribe to the #operaplot Twitterstream

Click here to subscribe in your feed reader – you’ll find out when the next contest starts.

Power users of Twitter can efficiently follow multiple hashtags (i.e. topics) using free desktop programs like Tweetie (Mac only) and Tweetdeck.

Join Twitter and follow Miss Mussel – who runs these contests.

Subscribe to The Omniscient Mussel on her RSS feed or in Facebook. You’ll get the announcement next time around.

Don’t know what this feed stuff means? Sign up for this blog via email and we’ll try not to miss it next time.

My faves:

These favorites of mine are drawn from the official entries here and here.

@ogiovetti - Seamstress pals around with bohemians in a December-May affair Receives muff as parting gift. (La Boheme)

A def. RM; W def. A; F def. W; Hd def. Sm; BH drew Wt; Sf def. F; Sf def. M;Sf def. fire;Hg def. Sf; BH def. self; fire def. gods. (The Ring Cycle rendered as a tennis box score.)

@Mmmusing - Count wishes he Susanna had; his wife is sad, his servant mad, a mezzo plays a lusty lad. Switcheroo exposes cad, finale he admits he’s bad. (The Marriage of Figaro)

@ionarts - Nothing happens; Mélisande dies.

@urbanophile - You ruined my life. Hey, let’s drink this. We’re in love. Ecstasy! Shit, we’re busted. Ok, let’s just die together. (Tristan und Isolde)

@arbakr - Andrei loves Natasha, leaves her alone–BAD IDEA, Napoleon! Pierre finds himself, French can suck it, GO USSR! er…Russia… (War and Peace)

@conslugarocko - New bride learns the lesson the hard way: “Never date a guy with baggage.” (Bluebeard’s Castle)

@ogiovetti - I’d kill to be Tsar. It’s good to be the Tsar. Wait, is D really dead? This is driving me nuts. My son can take over. Dosvedanya (Boris Godunov)

@mlaffs - Walther writes a love song, the Masters say it’s all wrong. Because he’s in love, he gets help from above. Everyone sings along! (Die Meistersinger)

@mlaffs - Tatyana writes, Lensky and Onegin fight. Later he sees her from across the room. “Will you still have me?” Not quite! (Eugene Onegin)

And, finally, my nomination as Most Musicologically Astute. (Here’s why.)

@BrianRobison - #operaplot Katerina and Sergei asphyxiate Zinovy, then marry. Corpse discovered; honeymoon in Siberia cut short. Muddle instead of marriage (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District)