The Director was the lovely Valerie Goodhall; the venue the Krannert Center. I know almost nothing of opera, but what was key for me was the storm - the music sounded like flying sheep and high-drama thunder. Following an exerpt from my first letter to the director where I include some roughs.

So what was in my head? Beaumarchais, 20-century influences, a turntable, a sense of the whimsical, Moorish architecture and other things…

One of the first things I looked at was early 20th century Spanish architecture, I found these photos that made me smile, probably because the buildings look like a bunch of ladies hatted and ready to go to tea.

Now these buildings are a far cry from the Moors, and are Fin de Siecle, so in some ways they have little to do with Barber. But as I'm reading about the history of Seville, it's cycles of religion and culture, and as I'm thinking about the movement of a turntable, and the circular dramatic action, circuitous seems not a bad idea. So I started scribbling in circular shapes...