San Diego, CA

Review: San Diego Opera closes season with richly sung ‘La traviata’

Published

9 months ago

April 26, 2025

Review: San Diego Opera closes season with richly sung ‘La traviata’

There’s a reason Verdi’s “La traviata” is the most-performed opera in the world. The music is gorgeous and instantly recognizable, the plot and characters are interesting and the story is told economically in a little over 2-1/2 hours.

As a result, if you cast the three principal characters well, you’re more than halfway home. And that’s the case for San Diego Opera’s season-closing production of the 1853 classic that opened Friday with a sold-out performance at the San Diego Civic Theatre. The three-day run closes Sunday.

On Friday, soprano Andriana Chuchman gave a ravishing vocal performance as Violetta, the dying Paris courtesan who sacrifices everything for the man she loves. The coloratura work in her first-act aria “Sempre Libera” was fearless and exuberant, and her finale, “Addio, del passato,” was delicate and haunting.

Playing her impulsive lover Alfredo in his company debut, tenor Boris Borichevsky gave a warm and appealing vocal performance that was most pleasing in the middle range of his voice, shining best in the third-act aria “Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo.” And bass-baritone Hunter Enoch was outstanding as Alfredo’s disapproving father, Germont. Enoch has a huge and perfectly pitched voice that easily filled the 3,000-seat Civic Theatre and his performance of the beautiful second-act aria “Di Provenza il mar” was a show highlight.

Hunter Enoch as Germont in San Diego Opera’s “La traviata.” (J. Katarzyna Woronowicz)

“La traviata” is an opera where the San Diego Opera Chorus, directed by chorus master Bruce Stasyna, plays an active part, both vocally and dramatically, and they did it here with aplomb on Friday. And San Diego Opera Principal Conductor Yves Abel’s subtle and nuanced leadership of the San Diego Symphony musicians Friday was exceptional, particularly in the two party scenes and finale.

Because “La traviata” has been staged so many times by San Diego Opera, there’s usually not much new in its theatrical staging. But director/choreographer Kyle Lang has brought some new ideas to the production.

First, during the melancholy overture, he creates a cinematic-style graveyard scene where performers moved backward, rewinding the action so the rest of the story becomes a flashback memory tale. There’s also a bold ballet for six dancers where a courtesan-style ballerina is symbolically manhandled and flipped around on her back by a group of tuxedoed male dancers. And when the chorus turns on Alfredo in the second act ball scene, he’s literally beaten and bloodied.

The physical production features lavish rented costumes from Washington National Opera and projections and minimal scenic elements by Tim Wallace.

San Diego Opera has downsized in recent years, with less money spent on large scenic designs. Those gigantic set pieces from yesteryear were visually stunning (and sometimes generated their own applause when revealed), but they took 15-20 minutes to change between scenes. For this production, the audience could watch through a semi-transparent scrim curtain as three stage crew workers moved and rearranged the stage platforms and stairs n just a few minutes. This kept the mood and the show moving along at a good pace.

‘La traviata’

When: 7:30 p.m. April 26; 2 p.m. April 27

Where: San Diego Opera at the San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown

Tickets: $35-$260

Online: tickets.sdopera.org/events

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San Diego, CA

San Diego sues federal government over razor wire fence near U.S.-Mexico border

Published

9 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

San Diego sues federal government over razor wire fence near U.S.-Mexico border

The city of San Diego has filed a lawsuit against the federal government that alleges the construction of a razor wire fence near the U.S.-Mexico border constitutes trespassing on city property and has caused environmental harm to the land.

The complaint filed Monday in San Diego federal court states that razor wire fencing being constructed by U.S. Marines in the Marron Valley area has harmed protected plant and wildlife habitats and that the presence of federal personnel there represents unpermitted trespassing.

The lawsuit, which names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Defense among its defendants, says that city officials first discovered the presence of Marines and federal employees in the area in December.

The fencing under construction has blocked city officials from accessing the property to assess and manage the land, and the construction efforts have” caused and will continue to cause property damage and adverse environmental impacts,” according to the lawsuit.

The suit seeks an injunction ordering the defendants to cease and desist from any further trespass or construction in the area.

“The city of San Diego will not allow federal agencies to disregard the law and damage city property,” City Attorney Heather Ferbert said in a statement. “We are taking decisive action to protect sensitive habitats, uphold environmental commitments and ensure that the rights and resources of our community are respected.”

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song

Published

21 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song – San Diego Union-Tribune

SUNG-MUN SONG

Position(s): Third base, second base
Bats / Throws: Left / Right
2026 opening day age: 29
Height / Weight: 6-foot / 194 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in December 2025
Contract status: A four-year, $15 million deal will see Song make $2.5 million in 2026, $3 million in 2027, $3.5 million in 2028 and $4 million in 2029 if he does not opt out of last year; Half of his $1 million signing bonus is due in January 2026 and the other half in 2027; There is a $7 million mutual option for 2030.
fWAR in 2025: N/A
Key 2025 stats (KBO): .315 AVG, .387 OBP, .530 SLG, 26 HRs, 90 RBIs, 103 runs, 68 walks, 96 strikeouts, 25 steals (144 games, 646 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

.214 — Song’s isolated power in 2025, a career high as he prepared for a jump to the majors. Isolated power measures a player’s raw power (extra bases per at-bat) and Song had a .190 OPS in 2018, in his third year as a pro in Korea, before it dropped to .101 in 2019 and then a career-low .095 in 2023. Hitting 19 homers pushed Song’s isolated power to .178 in 2024 and then a career-high 26 homers push it even higher in 2025.

Idle — Drafted by the Heroes in 2014, Song debuted in the KBO the following year but didn’t become a regular until 2019. A drop-off in production — he had an .884 OPS in 78 games in 2018 and a .597 OPS in 103 games in 2019 — was followed by losing the 2020 season and a chunk of the 2021 season to military service obligations. Then three straight sub-.700 OPS seasons forced Song to rethink his approach to professional baseball, especially in the face of the likes of Ha-Seong Kim, Jung Hoo Lee and Hyeseong Kim generating big-league buzz. Song started with weight training and nutrition. A hitting coach also helped him with balance, pull-side power and the ability to catch up with the sort of fastballs that seem to dog Korean players when they arrive in the States. It all added up to a breakthrough year in which Song paired 19 homers, 104 RBIs and 21 steals with a .340/.409/.518 batting line. To prove it was no fluke, Song followed up his 2024 season with another strong effort that solidified his wish to try his hand in the majors. The ensuing, four-year, $15 million deal that Song signed with the Padres in December cost his new employer a $3 million posting fee to be paid to the Kiwoom Heroes.

2026 OUTLOOK

Like Kim before him, Song appears to be joining the Padres as a utility player with the hope that he blossoms into more as he gets comfortable in a new country and league. Song had experience in Korea at third base (500 starts), second base (149 starts) and first base (38 starts). Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller even mentioned outfield reps in passing as he assessed how Song could help the Padres in 2026.

Former KBO player Sung-Mun Song shakes hands with Padres vice president of amateur and international scouting Pete DeYoung after signing a contract with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Saturday. (Photo by Armond Feffer/San Diego Padres)

ROSTER RANKINGS

24. INF Sung-Mun Song
25. RHP Matt Waldron
26. OF Bryce Johnson
27. RHP Ron Marinaccio
28. RHP Bryan Hoeing
29. LHP Kyle Hart
30. RHP Jhony Brito
31. INF Will Wagner
32. OF Tirso Ornelas
33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
34. RHP Miguel Mendez
35. RHP Daison Acosta
36. RHP Ty Adcock
37. RHP Alek Jacob
38. INF Mason McCoy

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San Diego, CA

Poway removes hundreds of trees to make city safer

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Poway removes hundreds of trees to make city safer

Drivers traveling through the city of Poway may have noticed a dramatic change to the landscape. Since September, more than 1,400 trees — many of them eucalyptus — have been removed as part of the city’s hazardous mitigation grant project aimed at reducing wildfire risk and improving public safety.

Poway is spending roughly $3 million on the effort, which focuses on removing trees that are dead, dying or considered dangerous. Much of the cost is being reimbursed by FEMA. Officials say the project is designed to make emergency evacuation routes safer while improving the overall health of trees along major roadways, rights-of-way and open spaces.

“I was relieved that there were some efforts being put into improving our resiliency to wildfire in our community,” said Poway Fire Chief Brian Mitchell.

Mitchell said spacing out trees can slow the spread of a wildfire and prevent roads from becoming blocked during an emergency.

“That certainly has the potential to block our first responders from accessing somebody’s house in the middle of an emergency,” Mitchell said.

City leaders also point to storm safety as a key reason for removing hazardous trees under controlled conditions rather than risking falling limbs or entire trees during severe weather.

“I don’t want to be driving down that street and just a random limb just happened to collapse, you know, just hit me,” said Poway resident Dawn Davis.

Davis said she also worries about the threat the trees pose to nearby homes.

“I don’t want anybody’s homes here to be damaged, either by them or fire,” Davis said.

A Poway spokeswoman said a certified arborist evaluated nearly 6,800 trees in Poway. About 2,800 invasive trees were recommended for removal.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.

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