Sex. Murder. Betrayal. How I learned commitment.

This is a story of a woman from a small town in Arkansas, who ends up on the cover of Time Magazine. A pioneering?feminist assaulting one of the bastions of entrenched parochialism—classical music.?

My first job out of college I worked at Opera Company of Boston. Sarah Caldwell is Artistic Director.?

I worked with a lot of star power in my life, but maybe only one impresario.?

Sarah Caldwell holds a thousand strands in her hand.?

We’re put together Turandot. Sarah gets Ming Cho Lee to design the set. She gets the Beijing Opera to design props and costumes. She gets martial artists to choreograph.?

The cherry on Puccini’s melodic cake is the American debut of Eva Marton.?

Sarah sits in the stalls and the opera whirls around her.?

Opera is no democracy. The entire production focuses through her lens.?

Opera is meticulous planning. Careful design. Sets. Costumes. Lights. Props.?

A large orchestra. A large cast of performers. All of it coordinated against a strict deadline. Opening night.?

I learn to work toward deliverables, build budgets, hit unforgiving milestones.?

Opera is some of the best business training I ever had.?

It's a crazy pace, burnout, short tempers, dangerous. But it's also everyone focused on a single goal. It's exhilarating.

Putting these productions together and getting them to hum as one takes fast-paced decision making, a team pulling together, rapid fire solutions, project management under pressure.?

To get there, Sarah stays committed to her vision. She is uncompromising.?

Add one more opera story ingredient to sex, murder, betrayal.?

Passion.

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