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46 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JUNE 2025 On June 13, the Four Season Opera Club will present Tchaikovsky's most celebrated opera, Eugene Onegin. A week later, on June 20, we will present Tchaikovsky's most celebrated ballet, Swan Lake. It is no exaggeration to claim that these two works represent the very best of Russian ne arts culture. e opera, Eugene Onegin, is based on the monumental "novel in verse" by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin is to Russian literature what Shakespeare is to English literature and Goethe to German literature. Eugene Onegin occupies a sacred place in the repertoire of Russian opera. Likewise, our ballet selection for June is equally sacred in the Russian ballet cannon. It is Tchaikovsky and Petipa's most celebrated collaboration, and is the most well-known and widely performed serious ballet of all time. Many regional and smaller ballet companies will only ever produce e Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Stronger companies can even aord to bring in major guest stars to augment their company. e version we will show will be from the Vienna State Ballet in 1966 featuring Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn – both legendary assoluta dancers. Our showing of Eugene Onegin will be equally stellar. It will be the 2007 production from the Metropolitan Opera featuring the powerful Russian baritone, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and America's sweetheart soprano, Renée Fleming. Briey, the story is about a young country girl who falls in love with a sophisticated, aloof dandy. He declines to return her attention and they both move on. Late in life, Onegin visits Tatiana to rake the coals of that youthful attraction, only to nd that whereas the now mature Tatiana still holds some aection for Onegin, she declines to ruin her life and marriage by running o with him. (is is not Anna Karenina, aer all). Renée Fleming won great acclaim for her "Letter Scene" and Hvorostovsky for his "Onegin's Sermon." A refresher on Swan Lake. Siegfried is hunting and comes across Odette and other young maidens as they transform back to human form from having been swans. He is smitten and pledges his everlasting love. Later, Odile appears to trick Siegfried into betraying Odette. Having succeeded, Odette explains her fate to Siegfried and he chooses to share that deadly fate as they both drown in the lake. For more background, synopses, and librettos visit fsbopera.org. See you at the opera. (Onegin runtime 2:37; Swan Lake runtime 1:48.) ~ Harvey Toyama, admin@fsbopera.org, (951) 524-3765 Opera Club Classical Music Club 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 Nureyev and Fonteyn Hvorostovsky and Fleming