San Diego, CA
San Diego Opera's 'Madama Butterfly' takes the stage at Civic Theatre
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
“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.
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.
San Diego, CA
City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness
Last week Mayor Todd Gloria released the budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal budget. Protected homeless services is among his top priorities mentioned in the proposal. However, some of the reductions he’s proposing could impact thousands of San Diegans experiencing homelessness.
Located on 17th and K Street, the Neil Good Day Center offers an array of services to nearly seven thousand people experiencing homelessness. The services include giving them a place to shower and do laundry, and connecting them to a case manager, among others.
“These are critical services that are helping people off the streets, but really better their lives and their health and their employment situation as well,” Deacon Vargas with Father Joe’s Villages said.
Deacon Jim Vargas heads Father Joe’s Villages, which runs the center. He said through their prevention and diversion strategies, they’ve managed to keep nearly one thousand individuals from falling into homelessness.
“So by helping them pay rent, or helping them with their utilities, or helping them to reunite with family,” Vargas said.
Right now, the city allocates at least $850,000 per year to the Neil Good Day Center, according to Vargas.
But the future and funding for these services are in limbo because of Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts.
“The impact to those whom we’ve been serving the Daily Center would be very severe,” Deacon Vargas said.
In a statement to NBC 7, Mayor Todd Gloria said in part, “We must find more efficient and cost-effective ways to address this crisis and prioritize funding for programs that provide shelter beds and maximize resources to programs that place people into permanent housing.”
Since it’s still at a proposal stage, Deacon Vargas said it’s unclear how the city will decide to move forward.
However, Deacon Vargas said services would be significantly reduced because they would be forced to operate solely on a budget of about half a million dollars they receive from philanthropy.
“The hours would be cut. Some days would be cut. We would have showers that might be impacted because they’re given seven days a week and we’d close two days a week, then the showers would be five days a week, the case management,” Deacon Vargas said.
Deacon Vargas is certain of one thing.
He would like to continue offering services at the Day Center, even if the city goes through with the funding cuts.
“As we work with individuals at the Day Center and at Father Joe’s Villages, the community becomes healthier as a result of it,” Deacon Vargas said.
The budget also recommends additional cuts to homeless services, but does not give specifics as to where those cuts would be.
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
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San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
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