Don Satz replied to me:

>Personally, I'd like to see the word "diva" expunged from the
>vocabulary - it could join "maestro".  But, given that the term will
>continue to exist,  I have no problem with Celine Dion being called
>a diva; she is much better known than Fleming or Bartoli.

So is Charlotte Church, I imagine.  I don't think fame and distinction
as a performer are necessarily synonymous.

>One thing I like about the world of Rock is that these elitist terms or
>others are generally not used in descriptions.  Artists are people just
>like the rest of us with many of the same day-to-day concerns.  I don't
>see any reason to inflate them.

I don't see these words as elitist, more a mark of respect for the
performer.  I agree that when someone uses such words to ingratiate himself
with the performer, the words lose that sense of respect.  For all I know,
Fleming, Bartoli and Dion all have halitosis and kick the dog after a bad
gig.  They might even believe all that drivel in Charlton Heston's NRA
commercials.  But people respect them as musicians, whatever their other
foibles.

Richard Pennycuick
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