There were no arias, but plenty of nostalgia and advice when Marianne Cornetti returned to her alma mater Tuesday.

Miss Cornetti, a 1980 graduate of Knoch High School, spoke to approximately 100 choral students about her life as an opera singer.

That life includes performances with the Pittsburgh Opera and with opera companies all over the world, including Japan and China. In October, she sang for Olympic dignitaries gathered for the upcoming winter games in Turin, Italy. A compact disc she recorded with famed tenor Placido Domingo will be out in February.

For someone from the tiny village of Cabot, in Winfield, to be running in international circles is amazing to her, she said. But it shows what you can do if you try.

"Do whatever you want to do in life," she told the students. "It doesn't matter where you came from. If you have drive and passion, you can do it."

Miss Cornetti came across as the quintessential hometown girl made good -- who was star-struck when Bill Cowher spoke to her after she sang the National Anthem at a Steelers' game.

She began singing in the chorus at Saxonburg Elementary School. Her first solo, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," came in the sixth grade.

She began formal voice training while in the eighth grade and went on to roles in every Knoch High School musical.

Miss Cornetti, 43, has been singing professionally for 16 years. She made her opera debut with the Pittsburgh Opera's production of "Electra" in 1989.

She asked the students how many dreamed of a singing career. Three hands went up.

"Don't ever let anybody tell you [that] you can't," she told them. "There have been people along my way who said, 'I don't know. You're talented, but I don't know.' It's tough, but you just have to say, 'I'm not going to let anybody tell me I can't.'

"If you don't take this passion and do something with it, it's regretful."

She was speaking from experience.

After graduating from Knoch, Miss Cornetti attended the Manhattan School of Music. But living in Harlem was too much of a culture shock after Cabot, so she came home and worked with her father at the Butler County Mushroom Farm. Then she enrolled at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, but lost her confidence after falling ill and again came home.

She considered switching to speech pathology when a counselor at Duquesne University persuaded her to continue with her music studies. She went on to earn a degree in vocal performance from Duquesne.

"Can you imagine today, if I had become a speech pathologist, how miserable I would have been?" she asked. "I'm glad I took the path I did. It has fulfilled me. If I died tomorrow, I would have not one regret."

Although she is on the road for more than 10 months out of the year, Miss Cornetti said she needs to return to her roots to keep her grounded.

"If you walk down the street in Saxonburg, there's a warmth about this town," she said. "I need to visit with my mother's friends. ... I need that sense of normalcy."

After the class ended, about a dozen students remained to talk individually with Miss Cornetti. Some were children of her Knoch classmates. Others plan a career in music.

Senior Dawn Marks said she plans to double major in trumpet performance and music education at Slippery Rock University next year. Miss Cornetti, she said, "was very inspirational. It makes me want to continue on to do music."

Do whatever you want to do in life. It doesn't matter where you came from. If you have drive and passion, you can do it.

First Published: December 18, 2005, 5:00 a.m.