Karen swoops in from Afghanistan

Last night my friend Karen flew in from Afghanistan with her friend James for the beginning of two weeks of R & R that will take them to Israel and then back to Turkey for several days before returning to Kabul.  Some of you may be reading Karen’s blog (I mentioned it a few months ago), in which case you know she’s hobbling through this vacation with a cast and crutches…and what strikes me as a very tiring itinerary (they left Istanbul before dawn today).

We met up with a friend of Karen’s from when she lived here in 2002 and went to see Carmen at the cultural center in Taksim Square.  But somehow I was the only one who didn’t get a ticket in advance and the show was sold out.  Luckily a guy had two extra tickets, which he gave to me and a woman who happened to be from New York.  Nose bleed seats in the second balcony in front of three rows of talkative high schoolers who provided running commentary throughout the first half of the performance — but at least I got a seat, and it was a free ticket. 

Now, I could’ve sworn the ad said they’d be performing just the fourth act, not all four, but I was wrong.  No, I experienced enough opera to last me for the foreseeable future.  (This was actually my first opera apart from a brief performance in the Coralville Central Elementary gymnasium/cafeteria of what I recall was an opera for children called “Sammy the Snake” — I mostly remember that a kid flicked a paperclip into one of the singer’s eyes and got in serious trouble.)

Long story short:  if you’re interested in catching up with a friend who’s in town for a night, let me suggest that going to a four-act, four-hour opera and sitting in different locations is not the best way to do it.  At least she (Karen, not Carmen) will be coming back through town next week.