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Diva
 
 
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A diva is a celebrated female singer. The Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 term is used to describe a woman of rare, outstanding talent in the world of opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 (Maria Callas
Maria Callas

Maria Callas was an American-born Greeks soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts....
, Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé

Montserrat Caball? is a Spain Catalan people operaticsoprano. One of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century,she possesses a voice of remarkable beauty and of great range...
) and by extension in theatre and popular music (Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman is an English people Crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She sings in many different languages including English language, Spanish language, French language, Latin language, German language, Italian language, Hindi language and Chinese language....
, Celine Dion
Celine Dion

C?line Marie Claudette Dion Order of Canada National Order of Quebec is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actor. Born to a large, impoverished family, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband Ren? Ang?lil mortgaged his home to finance her first record....
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an United States singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S....
) . The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna
Prima donna

Originally used in opera companies, "prima donna" is Italian language for "first lady". The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given....
".

The basic sense of the term is "goddess
Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
", the feminine of the Latin word divus, "god".

term is often used with a negative connotation deriving from the implication that a star who is a "diva" is arrogant, difficult to work with, high-maintenance, manipulative, fussy, highly strung, privileged and demanding.






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A diva is a celebrated female singer. The Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 term is used to describe a woman of rare, outstanding talent in the world of opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 (Maria Callas
Maria Callas

Maria Callas was an American-born Greeks soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts....
, Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé

Montserrat Caball? is a Spain Catalan people operaticsoprano. One of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century,she possesses a voice of remarkable beauty and of great range...
) and by extension in theatre and popular music (Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman is an English people Crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She sings in many different languages including English language, Spanish language, French language, Latin language, German language, Italian language, Hindi language and Chinese language....
, Celine Dion
Celine Dion

C?line Marie Claudette Dion Order of Canada National Order of Quebec is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actor. Born to a large, impoverished family, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband Ren? Ang?lil mortgaged his home to finance her first record....
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an United States singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S....
) . The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna
Prima donna

Originally used in opera companies, "prima donna" is Italian language for "first lady". The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given....
".

The basic sense of the term is "goddess
Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
", the feminine of the Latin word divus, "god".

Negative connotation

The term is often used with a negative connotation deriving from the implication that a star who is a "diva" is arrogant, difficult to work with, high-maintenance, manipulative, fussy, highly strung, privileged and demanding. Professional singers and actors often use this term to describe someone who desires the stage spotlight over others.

Further Reading

Padva, Gilad (2007). A Yiddish Diva! Requiem for a Fabulous Woman in Avraham Heffner’s Film Laura Adler’s Last Love. Women & Language 30(1), 30-31.

External links

  • Divas website (Spanish)
  • Opera Divas Page
  • John Crace: Who'd be an Opera diva? February 4 2006, accessed 17 August 2008
  • ; Retrospective on female comics and Divas in the films of the 1910s at the
  • ; TIME Magazine article