42 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2026
On Feb. 13 and 20, the Four Seasons Opera Club will observe
Valentine's Day with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet served
twice. On the 13th, we will present Gounod's opera and on the
20th, Prokoev's ballet.
Most Americans have studied the play in grammar school and
are familiar with the 1968 Franco Zerelli lm version of the play
starring the youthful beauty, Olivia Hussey, then 17, portraying
the 14-year-old Juliette. Without a doubt, the eternal impact the
Shakespeare's work has inspired many interpretations of the play.
is month we will explore in the Opera Club's genre's.
Gounod's Romeo, composed in ve acts, starts at 6 pm in e
Lodge eater and runs two hours and 20 minutes. His opera
premiered in Paris on April 27, 1867 and entered the standard
repertoire of the Opera Comique in 1873 and has been performed
regularly worldwide ever since. You can refresh your knowledge
of the work by reading the synopsis and/or libretto on the Opera
Club website, fsbopera.org. You can even nd the bard's play
there as well.
Prokoev's ballet premiered in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1938
and is also performed regularly today. Perhaps the best known
scene is the "Dance of the Knights" at the beginning of the second
suite. is dramatic scene depicts the rivalry and strife between
the two Veronese families. is orchestral piece in E minor is
the most well known of the entire composition and is frequently
performed as a standalone concert piece. Even Zerelli's lm
score uses Prokoev's orchestration in his ball scene within
the lm. You can nd a several examples of the "Dance of the
Knights" on the website.
Seating is rst come rst serve, reservations are recommended
and may be requested via email to the address below. In January,
the Opera Club website gained a self-reservation feature allowing
members to reserve seats for the month's performances. Non-
members become members upon attending any event.
See you at the eater! ~ Harvey Toyama, admin@fsbopera.
org, (951) 524-3765
Opera
Club
Romeo et Juliet,
Mariinsky Ballet
Mission Opera
