How to...

How to become a great opera singer:

1. Arrange to be supremely gifted.

2. Arrange for your parents to love opera and expose you to lots of music while you are still a child so that when you grow up you will know instinctively how to phrase.

3. Find a teacher who understands technique, and understands that the same technique must serve all manner of music, and understands that it stands always in the service of expression.

4. Arrange to train quietly in the shadows until you reach maturity.

5. Arrange to get a nice job when you're ready in one of the German towns for two or three years (“Germany is the musical center of Europe,” Caballe) where you will receive professional coaching and experience.

6. Arrange to have friends and family to surround you and love you.

7. Arrange to burst suddenly on the scene from out of nowhere.

Written after watching the film about Montserrat Caballe. Yes, Sarah, you are right. It’s perfect.