The V&A’s major new show DIVA, which opens on Saturday, is anything but understated. For this is a celebration of the power and creativity of some of our greatest ever performers, with ravishing costumes worn by Maria Callas, Cher, Elton John and Marilyn Monroe giving a fascinating insight into the role of the diva. Here’s everything you need to know about the new DIVA exhibition at the V&A.
The V&A is known for its blockbuster shows and the museum’s latest, DIVA, promises to be quite something. After all, the clue is in the title. This is an exhibition that celebrates the courage, creativity and ambition of the diva – or as they put it “iconic performers who have made their voices heard” – from the 19th century to the present day.
The result is a glittering display of over 250 objects drawn from both the V&A archives and across the world, spanning fashion, photography, design, costume, music and live performance. Visitors are invited – via these striking exhibits, theatrical staging and a sonic headset experience – to better understand how divas have forever used their platform to challenge the status quo.
Another theme running throughout the exhibition is of the resilience of the diva (‘goddess’ in Italian), looking at how the word has been both subverted and embraced over the years. It also shines a light on the powerful and personal stories of our best-loved and best-known divas, from opera goddesses and silent movie sirens to today’s global megastars.
The exhibition, which is supported by NET-A-PORTER, is divided into two acts, with Act One providing historical context of the diva. And so we learn about 19th century opera singers Adelina Patti and Jenny Lind, whose talent brought them huge wealth and recognition at a time when it wasn’t the done thing for women to pursue a career. And we marvel at the silent screen and Hollywood stars, including Mary Pickford, Vivien Leigh and Marilyn Monroe, who continued to pave the way for equality.
Visual highlights in this section include the Christian Dior corseted crimson dress Vivien Leigh wore on stage in Duel of Angels (1958); and the iconic black fringed dress Marilyn Monroe smouldered in as Sugar “Kane” Kowalczyk in Some Like it Hot (1959). The finale is a display of costumes worn by opera divas over the years, including those from Maria Callas’s very first and last performances at the Royal Opera House and a custom red satin dress by Vivienne Westwood for Joyce DiDonato (2012). It’s quite the crescendo.
Act Two is no less impressive, looking at the diva today and how they have redefined the title, making it their own. It demonstrates how artists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone challenged the status quo, while others, including Aretha Franklin, continued to use their platform for social and political change, including civil rights and feminism. And let’s not forget the boundary-pushing divas who used their art to address sexuality, gender and the body – Grace Jones, Annie Lennox, Prince and Elton John among them.
It also pays homage to all those who have forged a phenomenally successful path in the historically male-dominated music and film businesses (Rihanna, Dolly Parton and Barbra Streisand being three notable examples). Again, this act finishes with a bang – this time paying tribute to two legendary divas, Cher and the late-Tina Turner, and their creative collaborations with visionary fashion designer Bob Mackie.
As you’d imagine, costume highlights in Act Two dazzle, including Sandy Powell’s Louis XIV inspired powdered wig and train ensemble for Elton John for his 50th birthday party; Shirley Bassey’s couture pink Julien MacDonald gown, with diamanté-studded wellington boots, worn to Glastonbury in 2007; and Janelle Monae’s ‘vulva pants’ designed by Duran Lantink for the music video Pynk (2018).
“It is wonderful to see the diva celebrated in this exhibition, and to see the V&A reclaiming the title,” says Bassey. “To me, ‘diva’ is all about the power of the voice and the ability to entertain, to succeed against odds, to fight, and break through barrier after barrier: to have your voice heard.” And who could argue with that?
‘DIVA’ will run at the V&A from 24 June 2023 – 7 April 2024;
vam.ac.uk
Main image: Cher, Elton John and Diana Ross at Rock Awards Santa Monica Civic Auditorium 1975; Various Locations; Mark Sullivan 70’s Rock Archive Photo: Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images
