On Friday, June 13, 2003, I received an email message from my friend Anne Desler, an up-and-coming mezzo-soprano from Hamburg, Germany. We'd met years ago while we were both graduate students at the University of Southern California.
She said she'd just been hired by Fabio Biondi -- the director of Europa Galante, a big-time baroque ensemble based in Italy -- to perform the contralto role of Adalgiso in A. Scarlatti's opera, Carlo Re d'Alemagna. This was to be its first modern performance, though non-staged, and showcased at the annual Festival Scarlatti in Palermo, Italy, during the first week of October.
Not only was I overjoyed for her having snagged this first major gig, I immediately thought about going over to see her perform. Granted, my day job was going to hit its busiest time of year, and early fall is still an expensive season to travel to Europe. But this was such an exciting event, such an exciting prospect, how could I possibly miss it? And the mere thought of being in Italy again drove me insane with delight.
I had to go.
From June to August, though, my plans evolved into one that included a stop in Madrid, Spain, as there are no direct flights to Palermo from outside Italy. I chose Madrid because two friends of mine, Huili and Alina Raffo, now live there with their daughter Miranda. Originally from Argentina, they moved to Los Angeles when Huili was a grad student at USC (which was how we met). I hadn't seen them in a few years, and really missed them.
I had to go to Europe again.
So I did.
-Amy