No one would characterize mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves’ rise to the top ranks of the operatic world as a bed of roses. It’s clear when you talk with her that she sometimes questions the physical and emotional toll of traveling most of the year to opera houses around the world. But you also feel that she is compelled to sing, that it’s part of her core and that opera comes first.

This art form was unknown to her growing up in a single-parent home in Southwest Washington, feeling out of sync with the neighborhood. Her mother made sure that Denyce and her two siblings had plenty of projects to keep them off the streets, limited their television viewing, and went to church numerous times every week. They sang in the church choir and had their own gospel group, performing in churches around the District. The neighborhood kids dubbed Denyce “Hollywood.”