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Four Seasons Singers Four Seasons Singers will be busy this year and we are excited about it! We will be singing as part of our Anniversary Year celebrations — date to be finalized soon. We will also be singing with the Bell Choir in June. The Singers are on break right now but depending on dates, we will get together in either February or March. Please watch the Breeze for announcements. Of course, if you are already on my email list you will get an email with the exact date. If you would like to join the Singers, would like to have your name included in my email list, or if you have questions about the Four Seasons Singers, call (951) 797-3466 or email me at bawasco@dc.rr.com. ~ Barbara Wasco The Opera Club continues to celebrate historical events in the opera world by presenting Terence Blanchard's 2019 work, Fire Shut Up in My Bones. We present this in cooperation with the African American Culture Club in observance of Black History Month. Fire is the first opera by a Black composer in the Metropolitan Opera's 139-year history. So this is a big deal and an important aspect of both opera and African American cultural significance. The story of the opera comes from Charles M. Blow's autobiographical novel of the same name. It tells of Mr. Blow's sexual abuse as a child in rural Louisiana and his eventual decision to disavow his youthful pledge to murder his assailant. As an opera, it breaks a lot of new ground. Mr. Blanchard is notably a jazz musician and that can be heard as he explores the opera genre. Most people will know of him as the composer for all of Spike Lee's movie scores. Other new ground is the inclusion of a step line dance scene. The Met has never before experienced anything as raucous as a step line before. The cast features Will Livermore as Charles and Angel Blue portraying Destiny. The opera re-opened the Met in 2021 after the covid shutdown. As a celebration of re-opening, the Met screened the opera live in both Times Square, and in Harlem. Please visit the opera club website to prepare for viewing the opera at the Fire Shut Up in My Bones page, fsbopera.org/2502-Fire.htm. There, you can find background information such as the CBS Sunday Morning coverage of the live New York premiere, the opera libretto, an interview with Audra McDonald and a playlist of Mr. Blanchard's album, A Tale of God's Will. A fun clip is the step line dance from the opera, the backdrop of which prominently features the HBCU Grambling logo. Next month is a return to the traditional repertoire with our presentation of the Met's 2012 produciton of Guiseppe Verdi's Aida. ~ Harvey Toyama, yukito@yukito.net, (951) 524-3765 42 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2025 Opera Club Karaoke Classical Music Club Karaoke was dark in January due to the Ballroom upgrade but we will be back in action in February. We had a great time at Jammyoke. People brought appetizers and their holiday cheer and we sang enough holiday songs to put everyone into the holiday spirit. If karaoke is one of those things on your bucket list for 2025, you should come out sometime and watch the show. You don't have to sing! We start at 5 pm on every first Tuesday and third Saturday of the month in the Ballroom. Any questions, please call me at (909) 712- 2292. ~ Dave Rohrbacker We are classical music lovers with an interest in sharing our love of, knowledge about, and interest in classical music. We meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7 pm in The Lodge Theater. We listen to and watch musical selections on the big screen. Each month we focus on a particular work or several selections of one composer. We also discuss current musical performances in the area. We welcome new members. Contact Steve Benoff at steve.benoff@ verizon.net or (310) 413-4896. ~ Steve Beno Elvis Bill wearing the silk PJs singing some Blue Christmas Mike, Leah, Doris and Peggy singing Christmas songs in their jammies at Jammyoke Will Liverman as Charles Blow

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