In this text a variety of voices and opinions are heard discussing aspects of musical performance. These include those of: a conductor responding to questions about opera in translation and other questions relating to opera; a singer writing about the difficulties and rewards of taking the title role in three different productions of an opera; two orchestral musicians describe their journey into the profession and provide an insight into it; and an ardent concert and opera lover relates his feelings when listening to music in various environments.

Angela Gheorghiu is one of the most passionate and talented artists working in opera today, a larger-than-life figure whose intensity and drive, on stage and off, have commanded the attention of the opera world. This authorized biography of the internationally acclaimed soprano, largely composed of exclusive interviews with the artist, covers Gheorghiu's life and career from her childhood in Communist Romania to her spectacular Covent Garden debut in 1992 and up to the present day. In it, Gheorghiu shares new insights into the performance of many of her iconic stage roles and her collaborations with opera's leading lights. Also featured are commentaries and reminiscences by such celebrated figures in the music and art worlds as Grace Bumbry, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Bryn Terfel, and Franco Zeffirelli.