A succession of great divas dominated opera from the mid-19th century and no male singer could match their popularity. Jenny Lind, Adelina Patti and
Nellie Melba were all sopranos, the highest-range female voice, which had the clarity and flexibility to cope with elaborate passages of flamboyant
music.
Divas amassed huge fortunes and flaunted them. Once in Verdi's La Traviata at Covent Garden, Patti dismantled her jewellery and had
the diamonds, valued at around £200,000 sewn onto the bodice of her costume. Two policeman were borrowed from nearby Bow Street police station
and mingled with the chorus on stage to keep an eye on them. The effect was literally dazzling.
Opera at this time had no particular sense of unity in performance despite a strong sense of stage design. The stars traditionally toured with their
own costumes and often had scant regard for either their colleagues or the composers. Rehearsals in the modern sense were unheard of and star singers
would rarely rehearse with the rest of the cast. In performance the stars stood centre stage and ignored everyone else - even if that person were
another star singing a love duet with them. Sometimes they would even insert their favourite aria or song into the opera, whether it was appropriate
or not.
Italian Dramatic Opera
