OK. You do the asking and let’s see where the conversation goes.

When one is in your position, having sung in all the most distinguished opera houses in the world, with one’s diary fully booked for the next few months and even years, and with the possibility of choosing your own repertoire, what really matters to an artist like you?

The most important thing to do when you reach this point is to keep going, maintain your high standards and that’s the hardest thing to do. Naturally, sometimes you start to wonder if it’s worth working so hard and if you should devote more time to your private life. You think about it often. But this profession is very selfish because it is so absorbing. And the voice is a very sensitive instrument, which has to be given all the attention in the world. It is very fragile. If you live a normal life or do the things most people do, you can’t become a singer. Our biggest problem is that our lives revolve around our voices. But there comes a time in your career once you have performed at all the important opera houses, when you consider doing something new, looking for something more interesting, like making a new recording or performing new works. You start to see everything from a different angle. You can’t look back on your professional career; there’s no time. Your career takes off and it is over before you even realise. When I look back on all that has occurred over the years it seems incredible. There comes a time when you have done so many things that sometimes you’re not even aware of them. Often your friends are more aware of them than you are, as they have lived through everything that has happened to you.

Looking Back

Perhaps now is a good time to take a step back and to reflect on everything you have gone through, because in all professional careers there is almost always a goal, something to work towards. How far do you think you have gone?

It is very difficult to say. I have never really considered whether I have “reached” my goal or not. Deep down, I chose this career because I liked singing, I liked the voice, and I liked to “feel” vocal music. But I didn’t even go to a conservatory with the intention of learning to sing. I went to learn music because I wanted to form part of the professional world of music. In fact, I really wanted to learn the classical guitar, but as it turned out there were no vacancies left for guitar lessons. As I was a member of the local choir in Cintruénigo (Navarre) and I liked singing so much, after already having moved to Pamplona, I decided to see if I could do two years of vocal technique training in order to join a choral ensemble. I wanted to join the chamber choir and in fact I auditioned for maestro Morondo. He didn’t want me for the choir. He told me I had a soloist’s voice, and that my voice did not blend in with the sound he was after for his group. At the heart of everything that has happened to me is that I had a profound love of music and singing. From then on, a series of things occurred that might never have occurred. In that case, my career would never have existed. I don’t really know if I have “made it” or not. The most important thing is to be satisfied with what you have done. And I am.