“Because I grew up in a country where there was no possibility of having an opinion, it makes me stronger now. Lots of singers are frightened about not getting invited back to an opera house if they speak out. But I have the courage to be, in a way, revolutionary. I want to fight for opera, for it to be taken seriously. Pop music is for the body, but opera is for the soul.” Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu is the epitome of the modern-day diva. Acclaimed for her passionate interpretations of Verdi, Puccini and 19th-century French opera, her thrilling lyric voice, electric stage presence, volatile temperament and glamorous lifestyle have prompted many comparisons with her idol La Divina, Maria Callas.