 For most of her adult life, Marcia Whitehead has lived in a little garage apartment in Southern California and worked a modest-wage job. Like most of us, she lives paycheck to paycheck, and has more debt than savings. And, like most of us, she dreams of an abundant life, beyond the ordinary. Her body is built to sing what is considered by many to be the hardest repertoire in song. When she was first told that she was a rare, lirico-spinto soprano, she was disappointed because she did not care for opera. Nevertheless, she was obedient to what she believed was God s imperative call to develop her talent: for over twenty years, she worked her 9 to 5 during the day, paying for coaches and teachers to train her voice on weekends and nights. Along the way, she learned to love the characters in the operas that were written for her voice: Andrea Chenier, Aida, Manon Lescaut, Adriana Lecouvrer, Tosca. A random acquaintance offered to arrange a hearing by Maestro Franco Iglesias-a world-renowned vocal instructor in New York City-whose students once included world class tenor Placido Domingo. It took a year just to arrange the audition, during which Iglesias would judge her chances at a late-blooming career. In the time that follows, it becomes clear that Marcia s dream of an abundant life has already come true.