Discussion Forum 11 In Discussion Forum 11, post your response to the following discussion question, and reply to at least two classmates' responses...

Discussion Forum 11

In Discussion Forum 11, post your response to the following discussion question, and reply to at least two classmates' responses by the date indicated in the Course Calendar.

Virtual classmates Roberto and Belinda are talking before class, joined by Fiona and Louie. They're debating several living performers as being like the divas in the late seventeenth century:

Roberto: I think Madonna is a true diva, even though she hasn't sung opera.

Belinda: Even though Beyoncé doesn't sing opera, her performances draw crowds. Isn't that what's important about being a diva?

Fiona: Well, I think divas should be specifically from opera or some other musical theater. So I don't think Madonna or Beyoncé are really divas. I think Betty Buckley fits the diva description better.

Louie: You're all mentioning female performers. How about Nathan Lane as a diva? He fits all the criteria of the seventeenth-century divas.

For this discussion activity:

• Describe and comment on the role of the diva (prima donna) in popularizing opera in the seventeenth century and in making it a successful commercial musical entertainment.
• Develop a working definition of diva based on seventeenth-century standards, and use that definition to critique the picks of your virtual classmates.
• In your opinion, what contemporary performer best encapsulates the qualities of a diva from the historical perspective of the late seventeenth century or, reading ahead in Chapter 14 (pp. 292-293) and Chapter 15 (p. 319), the first half of the eighteenth century?
• Agree or disagree with the choices of two of your real classmates.