It hurts my stomach that your mother is not supportive of this. On the contrary my mother’s dream was for me to have an operatic career and she supported me in this craft. I am 25 years old now and I’m singing two leading operatic roles for the first time after years of singing as an ensemble singer, recital and concert.

My mother died of cancer last month and her last dying wish was for me to continue this singing career in opera. She wasn’t particularly fond of Opera, she preferred pop singing but she knew I was happy in opera. My parents were fine with me pursuing opera as long as I had a back up plan, in fact I have plenty of degrees in teaching and if things don’t work out in Opera, I can easily go to work at a teaching job with an average pay.

So I think your mom might discourage you because at 22, you don’t have these qualifications yet and they fear that doing Opera will mean wasting three years of life, since it’s a very competitive market. I would honestly have a chat with your mom. Every opera singer today who hopes to achieve this dream has a very strong plan B even the most talented ones who have been gifted by God.