“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who are the greatest divas (Classic and Contemporary) of them all?”
And the mirror replied, “I’ll tell you right after the jump!”
What a week it’s been, cher public, and La Cieca (speaking on behalf of herself and Jay Caspian Kang) only hopes you’ve been enlightened by our little étude as much as we have found pleasure in bringing a little joy into your humdrum lives.
The scores have been tallied, and all that is left is to view the bubble graphs.
So, now that everything is settled, La Cieca is ready to entertain questions or to…. what’s that? You say the bubble graphs are less than clear in delineating a winner or winners? Oh, well, you’re right, of course, but aren’t all those colorful little bubbles lovely? How they remind La Cieca of the poster for the 1971 revival of No, No, Nanette!
Dear Loni Zoe Ackerman—whatever is she doing with herself these days? ….Oh, yes, of course: the diva rankings!
CLASSIC DIVAS
| RANK | DIVA | SCORE |
| 1 | Leontyne Price | 830 |
| (tie) 2 | Montserrat Caballé | 825 |
| (tie) 2 | Renata Scotto | 825 |
| 4 | Leonie Rysanek | 820 |
| 5 | Jessye Norman | 800 |
| 6 | Régine Crespin | 770 |
| 7 | Tatiana Troyanos | 725 |
| 8 | Joan Sutherland | 710 |
| 9 | Christa Ludwig | 640 |
| 10 | Marilyn Horne | 580 |
| 11 | Hildegard Behrens | 520 |
| 12 | Mirella Freni | 495 |
CONTEMPORARY DIVAS
| RANK | DIVA | SCORE |
| 1 | Edita Gruberova | 725 |
| 2 | Angela Gheorghiu | 705 |
| 3 | Anna Netrebko | 690 |
| 4 | Karita Mattila | 680 |
| 5 | Renée Fleming | 675 |
| 6 | Cecilia Bartoli | 605 |
| 7 | Waltraud Meier | 590 |
| 8 | Dolora Zajick | 530 |
| 9 | Joyce DiDonato | 520 |
| 10 | Natalie Dessay | 480 |
So, what have we learned, cher public?
Well, to begin with: it’s easier to be an older diva than a younger diva. Age adds to the “legendary” quality.
Retirement from the hurly-burly of the operatic stage perhaps adds a luster of soft focus to a diva, glossing over flaws that may have been more apparent when witnessed in real time.
Emotional Journey counts for a lot. Kunst and Stimm are about equally important, but you’d better have a lot of one or the other, or you’re no diva.
And for heaven’s sake, don’t be stingy with the Scandale!
La Cieca now invites the cher public to discuss the rankings, about which she is sure you will all be in complete agreement.
(Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera)
Jay Caspian Kang, who has delighted us so often at Free Darko, also may be heard tweeting at maxpower51.
Pick a little, talk a little
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.
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