ABSTRACT
I am sitting in the stage box in the beautiful gold and white 1890s auditorium of the National Theatre Opera in Ljubljana, Slovenia, built in the typical Austro-Hungarian Empire style contemplating the space and wondering what on earth I am doing there. Am I not the person who makes music and visual interventions in unloved and forgotten spaces? I am pensively thinking about how I could possibly stage Carmen, having fallen in love with Bizet’s score and Prosper Mérimée’s novella. A proscenium stage with a deep orchestra pit and tiered balconies stretch before me. My trusty sketchbook rests on the red velvet edge of the box, my pencil frozen in my hand, and I think about all 232the site-specific work I have done and am convinced I should not be attempting this project.
