THIS week my Influences column looks at opera soprano Ana Maria Martinez, who started out as a West Side Story loving kid in Puerto Rico and became a star who sings all over the world. (She’s also won a Latin Grammy and been dubbed “the most beautiful voice in Latin America.”
HERE is my conversation with Martinez, who had a fortuitous early meeting with Placido Domingo, who would go on to become a mentor of sorts.
She sings the female lead in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, which goes up at Los Angeles Opera on Saturday.