Aging & Wisdom Quote by Maureen Forrester

A mezzo-soprano’s generosity, delivered with the blunt efficiency of a backstage remark. Maureen Forrester’s line lands because it’s almost aggressively unpoetic: no grand talk about “supporting the next generation,” just a simple, repeatable habit. That plainness is the point. In an art form built on mythmaking and hierarchies, she frames mentorship as routine work, like showing up to rehearsal on time.

The intent reads as both ethical and practical. Opera doesn’t run on abstract admiration; it runs on gatekeepers, recommendations, and the quiet power of a name dropped in the right room. Forrester is acknowledging that reality without romanticizing it. The subtext is a rebuke to the professional shrug: the people who claim talent will “rise” on its own, or who hoard access as a form of status. Her “I always do” makes stinginess look not just unkind but lazy.

There’s also a subtle standard embedded in the phrasing. She’s not recommending “a young singer” out of pity or politics; the singer is “good.” That qualifier protects the integrity of the craft while still widening the door. Forrester’s era trained artists in an ecosystem where careers could hinge on a conductor’s whim or an administrator’s trust; a respected veteran vouching for you could shortcut years of waiting. The line’s cultural punch comes from how it treats that leverage as a responsibility, not a perk.