Commitment
The play revolves around the plight of an artist and the pain that comes with perfecting an art form. Maria stresses to the young singers auditioning that the business of singing in an opera is an ugly one filled with moments of great honor and disappointment. She further states that if they want to be the best they have to give all that they possess. They can never be held back by anything or anyone. Art is like a marriage, it requires full commitment. An opera singer is an art form that one never stop working on. It’s a lifetime gig that they’re either in it full time or not in it at all.
Emotional Struggles
Maria demands that the singers not only show the real emotion but feel it as well. She says they have to immerse themselves completely into the character without a doubt. Maria instructs the singers to not only sing to the words of the song but be one with it. She believes that to achieve perfection when performing, they have to feel the pain of the music and live in it. She pushes the singers to the edge to give them real-life pressures that translate to their performance. Maria elaborates that real-life experiences of pain, joy or suffering are essential when performing on stage to bring the performance to life. She often asks the singers auditioning about their lives and things they’ve been through. Maria stresses that they have to fully understand the singer’s emotions before they try to emulate it themselves.
Imagination
Maria also highlights the need for having a wild imagination when on stage. She says performers don’t have to experience something being expressed in a song if they possess wild imaginations. They can use it to conjure up an emotion that they’ve never felt before. Maria says that is what it means to be a great performer when you can place yourself into any character's shoe and be that person fully. However, Maria states that it’s not about being able to act it out but being able to transcend yourself into a space you’ve never been before and fully embody the feeling expressed in a musical piece.
