It is not just my South American debut tomorrow night - it is the first time I visit South America at all. It has been a truly fascinating experience to explore the magical city that Buenos Aires is, and to work in the renowned Teatro Colon to recreate our production of Wagner's youthful sin Das Liebesverbot. My assistant Barbara Lluch has done an incredible work with both casts, and it has been fantastic to come and put the finishing touches on the work. Das Liebesverbot is a surprisingly fun and light comedy, almost as if 24-year old Wagner was trying to write an operetta or an Italian comic opera. There are sudden glimpses of the Wagner he is later to become (and the lack of brevity and impossible demands on the singers are traits that are already well-developed!), but I hope the audience will first and foremost come to enjoy and take it as a fun satire on how hypocrisy thrives around - and in - all of us, on its own terms. Good luck to Maestro Oliver von Dohnányi, singers Lise Davidsen, Hernán Iturralde, Peter Lodahl & co!