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46 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JULY 2025 On July 11 the Four Season Opera Club will present the Puccini opera, Turandot. A week later, on July 18, we will present an encore showing as we expect overow interest. Although you may not have the music of Turandot on the tip of your tongue, you had to be hiding under a rock if you never heard the ree Tenors singing "Nessun Dorma" for the 1990 World Cup opening celebration. Indeed, every good tenor has taken a turn at this well-known aria. Even the pop singer, Russell Watson has been dogged by drunken pubsters in Ireland to "sing that 'No-one's Doorstep' song." But there's more to the opera than a single heart-stopping tenor aria — drama. is opera is Puccini's nal foray into exoticism and his last opera. In fact, Puccini was diagnosed with throat cancer while composing Turandot, and died before his act four sketches were orchestrated. He had begged his friend, Arturo Toscanini, to "not let my Turandot die." Toscanini and Puccini publisher Riccordi worked with Franco Alfano to nish the work. While that drama had to do with Puccini's mortality, there is also a bit of o-overlooked drama in the story itself. e soprano role of Liu is genuinely heroic but seemingly ignored in the impatience to hear Calaf sing Nessun Dorma, which follows shortly aer Liu's death. Liu is a slave servant to Timur, Calaf 's father. She has been devoted to them both all her life and has been in love with Calaf for most of it. When the Princess' soldiers begin torturing Timur, Liu deects their attention from him by declaring that she also knows the princes' name. e torture goes to her. She reprimands the Princess with her rationale for protecting Calaf, "Principessa, amore!" Before the torture escalates, Liu grabs a soldier's dagger and impales herself. She would rather die than betray Calaf. Look for Liu's heroism when you experience Turandot, this time with fresh eyes and ears. Turandot is a well-known and popular opera and we expect a larger than normal interest. With that in mind, we recommend an RSVP via text to the phone number below. e 24th request and beyond will be scheduled for the showing on July 18. If you are interested in attending the pre-show lecture, plan on arriving at 5:45 pm. For more background, synopses, and librettos visit fsbopera. org. See you at the opera. ~ 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 e 1998 production of Turandot in Beijing was staged at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which is just south of the Forbidden City.

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