Love, loss and honor are central themes in Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” — an opera taking to the stage in San Diego once again.
“So this is one of Puccini’s greatest operas,” said General Director of the San Diego Opera David Bennett.
He says he’s feeling a little bit anxious and tired, but overall is excited.
“Many people think of Puccini as the greatest opera composer, so it’s very well known. It came after two other very big successes — ‘La Boheme’ and ‘Tosca’ and this is a very different world,” Bennett said.
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KPBS was able to get access to a rehearsal inside the nearly 3,000 seat San Diego Civic Theatre to see what goes into creating such a complex performance.
“This is Puccini who was an Italian, end of the 19th century, very beginning of the 20th century, writing about Asian culture from his Italian perspective,” Bennett said. “The way he sets the score is vastly different from what he composed before, it’s actually very highly influenced by actual French composition, which is very delicate.”
The story focuses on a young woman who supports herself as a geisha after her disgraced father takes his life.
The performance stars soprano Corinne Winters, who plays that woman – Cio-Cio San.
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The San Diego Symphony practices in the orchestra pit while the stage is set for “Madama Butterfly” inside the San Diego Civic Theatre, April 23, 2024.
“This character, for her very young years, is highly intelligent and also very naïve. She is very feisty and angry, and at the same time, has so much grace, politeness and courtesy,” Winters said.
The soprano has played this role three times before in other parts of the world and said Cio-Cio San is a vulnerable character that’s emotionally and musically difficult to tackle.
“Having to sing this intense, complicated opera from a musical standpoint and the amount of stamina and technique required to sing a piece like this — with those two factors kind of always at play — is a lot,” Winters said.
The San Diego Symphony will guide the show through orchestra and the stage will be adorned with Japanese-inspired decor to match the story line, said the director of “Madama Butterfly,” Jose Maria Condemi.
“It’s a traditional setting of the piece — in 1904, 1906. And it’s visually very striking because of all those levels,” Condemi said of the raked stage. “If you sit in different seats in the house you get a very different experience of it.”
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Bennet said they took extra care to be culturally accurate in the smallest details.
“We are making sure that we are doing everything with real cultural awareness and cultural knowledge, down to the way everyone moves, the way everyone steps, the way you fold your garments, where the obi (Japanese sash) actually sits,” he said.
The stage is set for Madama Butterfly inside the San Diego Civic Theatre, April 23, 2024.
In “Madama Butterfly,” Cio-Cio-San — also known as Butterfly — falls desperately in love with an American naval officer and marries him.
But he leaves her for three years and while he’s gone, she bears his son. Meanwhile, he takes an American wife. This leads to an unraveling of Butterfly’s identity.
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“She not only married an American in the early 20th century, but she rejected her own culture. And she was rejected in turn, so that creates a very dramatic conclusion to the piece,” Condemi said.
With such a powerful story that requires great acting and voice, Winters digs deep for inspiration from the world around her. She appreciates the depth of the opera.
“It shows each character as a multi-dimensional human with a journey and their light, I guess — the light side of their personality — and their demons. And each character has it,” Winters said.
This isn’t the first time that the San Diego Opera has put on “Madama Butterfly,” but it’s a great opportunity for those new and seasoned to experience a show.
“It is a perfect piece for a newcomer to the opera because it’s accessible, the music is sweeping and it really goes straight to your heart,” Condemi said.
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The performances are sung in Italian with English and Spanish text projected above the stage. They take place Friday evening and Sunday afternoon at Civic Theater.
Four suspects were behind bars Friday for allegedly beating a man to death two months ago during a fight at Linda Vista Park.
Arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder in connection with the violent death of 59-year-old Ruben Rimorin were Juan Garcia Alavez, 21, Juan Manuel Lopez, 26, Brian Reyes, 20, and Franklin Joseph Tuell, 21, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Rimorin was found gravely injured about 3:45 a.m. Oct. 18 on a sidewalk in the 6800 block of Osler Street, just west of the park, SDPD Lt. Chris Tivanian said. Paramedics tried in vain to revive the victim before pronouncing him dead at the scene.
It remains unclear what sparked the deadly fight.
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The suspects were being held at San Diego Central Jail without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.
National City’s Pepper Park can soon expand in size by nearly 50%, thanks to a ruling this week by the California Coastal Commission to approve the National City Balanced Plan.
The approval of the plan at the CCC’s Wednesday meeting, developed by the Port of San Diego, means that not only will the popular park have the ability to increase in size, big changes are coming for commercial, recreation and maritime uses on the National City bayfront.
“We are grateful to the California Coastal Commission for its support of the National City Balanced Plan,” said Danielle Moore, chair of the Board of Port Commissioners. “The progress we have made has been anchored in tireless collaboration with the community, business leaders and, of course, the city of National City. It’s about bringing more recreational opportunities to the bayfront while also streamlining and strengthening maritime operations, and we are eager to bring these projects to life.”
Other components of the balanced plan include:
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Realigning Marina Way to serve as the buffer area between commercial recreation and maritime uses
The closure of Tidelands Avenue between Bay Marina Drive and West 32nd Street, and West 28th Street between Tidelands Avenue and Quay Avenue, around six acres, to increase terminal efficiency by eliminating redundancies
The development of a recreational vehicle park, tent sites, cabins and the “ultimate development of up to two hotels with up to 365 rooms, as well as dry boat storage,” a port statement read
A connector rail project to connect the existing rail and loop track located on the National City Marine Terminal to additional rail car storage spots at the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe National City Yard east of the National Distribution Center
The Board of Port Commissioners must accept the CCC’s certification, then the port and city can begin the process of completing the above projects.
“I am proud of the work we have done to help create a lasting legacy for National City, the Port of San Diego, and the entire region,” said Port Commissioner GilAnthony Ungab. “Nearly a decade in the making, this plan balances the interests of the community and many other stakeholders, addresses public access, maritime, and recreation uses, and expands waterfront access in my community.”
The National City Bayfront is 273 acres of waterfront land and 167 acres of water, and includes the National City Marine Terminal, Pepper Park, Pier 32 Marina, the Aquatic Center and pieces of public art.
Mayor Todd Gloria announced an initiative Wednesday intended to expand housing options in neighborhoods by integrating small-scale residences such as townhomes, rowhomes and cottages into an area’s existing character.
The Neighborhood Homes for All of Us initiative is also intended to support community land trusts — nonprofit organizations that acquire land to create permanent affordable housing.
“Since Day 1 of my administration, I have been focused on building more homes that San Diegans can actually afford — and getting them built faster,” Gloria said at a news conference Wednesday. “‘Neighborhood Homes for All of Us’ is the latest piece of that puzzle. This innovative program will break down the barriers that have gotten in the way of building the type of housing that I believe is ideal for young families and first-time homebuyers for whom the dream of homeownership has long felt out of reach.”
Around 80% of land zoned for housing in the city is restricted to single-family homes, which continue to increase in price, Gloria said. And a significant portion of new housing being built consists of apartment buildings with primarily studio and one-bedroom units, leaving working-class families fewer and fewer options for homes.
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Neighborhood Homes for All of Us is intended to increase the housing supply and allow community land trusts to keep housing affordable in disadvantaged communities for low- to middle-income families.
“San Diego is an incredible place to raise a family, and more families need the opportunity to do that in San Diego’s existing, highly desirable single-family neighborhoods where their kids can learn and play in a great community,” City Planning Director Heidi Vonblum said. “But today, that comes at a price that is out of reach for too many. Integrating more options for families requires careful and thoughtful planning, with input from existing and future community members across the city, to ensure these new home opportunities for San Diego’s families are built in ways that best enhance and benefit San Diego’s amazing neighborhoods.”
The initiative will roll out in two phases. In the first phase, beginning this week and continuing through next summer, San Diegans can help determine what the neighborhoods can look like. The public will be able to see renderings showing small-scale neighborhood homes within San Diego’s existing communities, along with new regulations that “provide a clear pathway for building these homes,” according to a statement from Gloria’s office.
Phase 1 will also include an open house and ways for the community to provide feedback and concerns.
Phase 2, scheduled for the second half of 2026, will be for city staff to develop regulations allowing for the building of more neighborhood homes in a way informed by the public feedback.
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The initiative is partly funded through a Regional Early Action Planning grant from the San Diego Association of Governments.
