Diva’s aren’t new. The term has been flung around for centuries, and on its winding etymological journey, it has gathered up many meanings.
The V&A’s summer exhibition, DIVA, embarks on a mission to unpack, but mostly celebrate, the concept of the diva: from its 14th century association with goddesses, to the 18th century prima donnas of Italian opera, through Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe, right through to Madonna and Mariah Carey (I don’t think the alliteration is deliberate).
