The stainless charm of the “Diva” – Il Sole 24 ORE
[ad_1]
Long live the Diva! A theatrical exhibition in two acts at the Victoria & Albert Museum explores the changing meaning of the term diva over the last two centuries and celebrates with a spectacular staging some of the artists who have most deserved to be defined as such.
The first act, on the lower floor, begins with the 19th-century opera stars, the first to be called by the Latin term for “goddess”. Italian Adelina Patti at the height of her fame was the most recognized woman in Britain after Queen Victoria. In addition to having a wonderful voice, she was a skilled businesswoman, who personally managed her contracts and her career, amassing great wealth. For her, as for other sopranos such as Jenny Lind and Maria Malibran, her success has given her not only fame but also economic independence. The soundtrack with stereo headphones, as important as the 250 clothes and objects on display, in this section offers “Casta Diva” sung by Maria Callas.
Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse
Equally aware of their power are the stars of the theatre, starting with the “divine” Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse who became an actress, manager and director of the theater company she founded. The term diva has also been associated with female artists who reinvented dance, such as Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller and Josephine Baker, and with the first silent film actresses, such as Lydia Borelli, Mary Pickford and Theda Bara. It was then handed down to movie stars who made their individuality a strength: like Carole Lombard, the first actress in history to have asked for and received a percentage of the takings of her films, or Katherine Hepburn, the sophisticated and stubborn rebel. Mae West and Marilyn Monroe, in different ways, have used their sex appeal to achieve success but have also learned the hard way how high the price of fame is. Divas, from Vivien Leigh to Elizabeth Taylor, have begun to be persecuted by a gossip-hungry press, more interested in their private lives than in their careers.
Cher
The second act, upstairs, drags us into the present, it does not follow a chronological order but is a technicolor journey into fashion, from the spectacular and glittering dresses worn by singers such as Cher, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga to the simple, inimitable little black dress by Edith Piaf. This section of the exhibition explores how the term diva has been reclaimed by female artists who are fully aware not only of their talent but also of their power to influence their fans and society. “The perception of the diva in today’s popular culture has wholly positive connotations -, explains Kate Bailey, curator of the exhibition -. She is not the fickle, self-centered and capricious star of the past but an unpredictable and creative, strong and alternative, ambitious and courageous artist, able to challenge machismo, prejudices and racism ”.
Dolly Parton first and then Beyoncé and Rihanna are the most striking examples of this force, stars who have used their musical talent to go much further, becoming actresses, entrepreneurs, stylists and cultural reference points. On display is the pearl-encrusted dress that Rihanna wore at the 2018 Met Gala, “disguising” herself as the Pope with a mitre on her head to impersonate the most important symbol of male religious power. Today’s divas also have a sense of humor. And they aren’t necessarily women: the exhibition makes an exception for two singers who undoubtedly deserve the term “diva”. Elton John, represented here by the extravagant Sun King suit with powdered wig and ostrich boa worn for his 50th birthday, and Prince, another musician who defied both musical and sexual stereotypes. The diva continues to reinvent herself, overcoming barriers, prejudices and expectations about sexuality or appearance. On display the ermine dress exhibited by Lizzo, the singer who thanks to her talent has been able to redefine the canons of beauty, and the “vulva trousers” created and worn by Janelle Monaé, the artist who defines herself as non-binary and who has described her perplexing outfit as “a celebration of female sexuality and empowerment”.
Diva, Victoria&Albert Museum, London, until 7 April
[ad_2]
Source link
