HERMITAGE — Hilary Landfried may or may not be one in a million.

The newly minted Hickory High School graduate knows that a career as an opera singer comes to only a few, and is practical enough to acknowledge that she may not be one of the chosen few.

“I know there’s like a one in a million chance that this is actually going to happen for me,” said Ms. Landfried, 18.

But, she also knows that it won’t happen if she doesn’t take a shot.

“I think that it’s all determination, ambition, focus,” she said. “In my mind, I’m like, if I keep with it for a while, I’ll be able to do it. There are several things I like, but opera is something I love.”

Ms. Landfried said her interest in opera “makes no sense.” Although her voice is “naturally operatic,” her parents are classic rock fans of the ilk of Elton John, and she only started listening to classical music because she could buy classical compact discs cheaply.

“I fell in love with it,” she said.

A lyric soprano with a three-octave range, Ms. Landfried studies with Mary Beth LoScalzo of Hermitage and is a cantor at Notre Dame Church, Hermitage, but most of her singing experience is with choral groups. She calls choral singing “kind of hard” because she is trying to contribute to an ensemble and allows the conductor to decide how the vowels should sound, when to stop singing and what kind of emotion to put into the performance. Those are decisions she wants to make for herself.

“I have control issues,” she said.

She goes into opera with disadvantages in several respects. There is little, if any, opportunity for a young person to sing opera outside of a voice lesson in this area, and she has had limited experience with the languages of opera, most notably Italian, German and French.

She is an honor Spanish student, but acknowledged, “It’s not really going to be a massive help.”

She wants to try to teach herself Italian this summer, and will be required to study German at Gettysburg College, where she has enrolled in a dual major of history and vocal music.

“That’s going to be a real downfall for me,” she said of languages, “because people who come from other countries are more fluent and don’t have an accent.”

Ms. Landfried has acted in school plays and took acting classes when she was younger, which gives her some preparation for the dramatic aspects of opera.

“It’s something I need to put more work into,” she said. “I’ve put my emphasis on singing. I definitely need both.”

One of the reasons she chose Gettysburg College and its Sunderman Conservatory of Music was that officials supported her desire for a double major, she said. Also, the college is small and does not have a graduate program, which should give her lots of opportunities to perform, she said.

Although Ms. Landfried practices singing 1è to two hours a day, she has reached the point of musical sophistication where she can “practice without practicing.” By that, she explained, she can hear a piece she is working on in her head and think about where to breathe and how to convey the emotion of the song. Working those details out when not singing helps her make the most of the time when she is singing.

No matter how much preparation an artist puts into something, it’s all about the time when the music starts and the singer opens his or her mouth that counts.

“I can’t walk out of my voice lesson and not be happy, unless it went really bad,” said Ms. Landfried, who recently began piano lessons.

During a recent tour of the Pittsburgh Opera headquarters, she was able to talk to opera professionals and get some advice on everything from schooling to travel.

“They really helped me with undergraduate schools, graduate schools and what to expect,” she said. “The lifestyle is grueling.”

An admirer of divas such as Renee Fleming, Dame Joan Sutherland, Anna Netrebko and Natalie Dessay, Ms. Landfried appreciates their technique as much as their tones. Proper technique is important because her voice is a few years away from maturation, and professional singers often experience changes in range and timbre over time.

“My voice will get stronger and my range will expand,” she said. “It all depends on how you sing and the technique you use. Using improper technique can change your voice. Learning technique at a young age is really important.”