Diva

Glamorous exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at the concept of the Diva from Victorian opera singers to today.

The ground floor looked at stage and screen and the more open upper floor looked at the reclaiming of the Diva. That floor was spectacular but I felt I lost track of the themes and narrative because it was so visually stunning. I didn’t take the headphones for the tour as a friend said she found it distracting as in a crowd it triggered in the wrong  places. In did fine instead of that I seemed to be surrounded by shouting middle aged people who couldn’t hear each other over the music in their ears.

I loved that they included a lot of opera singers particularly as I still think of the idea of the diva as an opera concept. I also liked that they included film stars not just singers. It was a good touch that the biographies of the women pointed out where they had been pioneering in their field and linked this to the different phases of feminism.

All that being said what really dazzled were the costumes. Favourites? Monroe’s black dress from “Some Like it Hot”, a wonderful display of Cher costumes shown with their designs, Elton John’s 50th birthday outfit, Lady Gaga’s golden globes dress and so much more.

Closed 10 April 2024


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