Sometimes, although rarely, a song cuts straight to the heart. After the death of legendary opera singer Maria Callas, one of the interviewees in this film says, she thought that feeling would never return. But then, while driving, she heard Ermonela Jaho, the Albanian-born singer often compared to Callas, and the magic returned.

The same thing happened to director Jan Schmidt-Garre, and he decided to embark on a quest to find the “sacred fire” — the secret magic behind three opera singers: Jaho, the Lithuanian Asmik Grigorian, and the Canadian Barbara Hannigan. Schmidt-Garre does this not only through conversation, but also by observing them: What do they do (or not) the day before debuts? In the moment before going on stage? What happens during rehearsals? He also tries to pierce their souls —  to understand what effect the complete dedication to a song has on a performer and to identify the line between the pain in opera and in life. All this is accompanied by moving operatic performances and a behind-the-scenes look at opera halls around the world.