Maria Ling (no.4, 1995-2001) lives as a solicitor while also continuing to train and work as a soprano. In her legal life, Maria has worked on some of the biggest and most high-profile cases in the UK, and as a performer she took part in the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony and in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games Closing Ceremony at the Verona Arena.

1. What is your favourite memory of Roedean?

The sea view, interesting conversations with friends from different parts of the world, and textiles lessons with Mrs Blake. In my first lesson, I learnt to make duvet covers with a sewing machine. These duvet covers were later passed to the Queen Mary’s Clothing Guild to donate to the needy, and every year this charity had a “View Day” to display the donated handmade textiles at St James’s Palace. I represented the school on two occasions to meet the Queen Mother (then patron of the charity) and her corgis at this event.

2. What was the best piece of advice you were given whilst at School?

The former deputy headmaster Mr Farmer once said before the exams: good luck means preparation meets opportunity.

3. When you were at Roedean, what did you want to be when you ‘grew-up’?

A fashion designer, and later, a diplomat.

4. What are you now you’ve grown up?

A lawyer and a classical singer.

5. What does your job involve?

I work in law enforcement and prepare cases for prosecution. Alongside my legal career, I continue to train and perform as a classical singer. My repertoire covers different genres, including opera, French chansons, German lieder, art songs in other foreign languages, and most recently, jazz.  Before each concert, I have regular rehearsals and coaching sessions with my repetiteur / accompanist to work on my musical interpretation and pronunciation. Performing as a singer is like being an athlete, as it requires disciplined training and stamina. The voice continues to grow and evolve as you get older, and you need to keep working on it to become better.  My longest solo recital was about 2 hours – singing in Russian and German all from memory – it was like a vocal marathon.

6. What have you done that you are most proud of?

I am most proud of my music performances in recent years as my years of hard work are finally paying off and I can now sing more challenging music to higher standards with ease. Over a period of three months, on top of my day job, I had intensive rehearsals with my repetiteur weekly to prepare a total of 34 songs in 10 languages back to back, for two different solo concert programmes in London and Milan, which were only a few weeks apart. The recital in London was almost 80 minutes without an interval, covering 19 songs, 10 composers and 7 languages, featuring romantic music by Mendelssohn, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, as well as songs by Viardot, Villa-Lobos, Duke Ellington and more. For the final encore, I sang Rossini's La Danza – I was inspired to learn this song after watching Cecilia Bartoli's performance many years ago. Now I finally have the technique to tackle this Italian tongue twister, and have the breathe control to hold the last note longer than Cecilia Bartoli!

7. What are the three objects you would take with you to a desert island?

A piano, music scores and arts supplies, so that I can continue to learn music and be creative.

8. What books have had a significant influence on you and why?

I enjoy reading the autobiographies and biographies of artists (or interviews with them), such as opera singers, conductors and theatre directors, to learn about their career pathways and creative process. The common theme I have learnt from these books is that even the most successful and talented musicians had setbacks and rejections earlier in their career, but they kept honing their craft and persevered. Two books which I have enjoyed recently are Opera Wars by Caitlin Vincent and My Life in Music by Sir Antonio Pappano. I like the honesty and witty style of the author in Opera Wars, in which she writes candidly about the harsh realities of getting a job in the opera world, including her own experience and struggles. In My Life in Music, I learnt that Sir Antonio Pappano did not study at a conservatoire but he developed his musicianship through training on the job. This is very inspiring, as he demonstrates that musical education exists in many forms and that there are many different ways to train to an international standard.

9. What is on your bucket list?

To sing on the stage of Teatro alla Scala.

10. If you had one year and unlimited funds, what would you do?

I would travel around the world and do all the things that I enjoy. I would also share as much as possible with others to spread joy.

We are grateful to Maria for being our guest speaker at the OR Spring Networker in May, sharing such interesting tales from her varied career. Her positive attitude to life is very encouraging for us all!

If you would like to be featured in a 10 Questions with…, or if you’d like to get involved with Roedean’s Careers and mentoring, we'd love to hear from you! Please drop us an email on [email protected].