While studying Spanish, she approached the University of Guanajuato and asked if she could audit theater and voice classes. “Sitting in on classes that focused on voice, music and theater was my way of learning vocabulary related to things I loved,” she says. “I learned so much colloquial Spanish directing that play.”When Burt came to Guanajuato, she had no plans to start an opera company. Almost all the adult and children’s choir members are Mexican, giving them the once-rare opportunity to perform. With local support, you, too, might start something as exciting as an opera company.