opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

or ''

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

'', a prima donna (;

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage personalities and were seen as demanding of their colleagues. Because of this, the term has spread in contemporary usage, from its original usage in opera to referring to anyone behaving in a demanding or temperamental fashion or having an inflated view of oneself. The prima donna in opera was normally, but not necessarily, a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. The corresponding term for the male lead (usually a

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries, later a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

) is ''primo uomo''.H. Rosenthal, H. and J. Warrack, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1979. p. 398.

Opera

In 19th century Italy, the leading woman in an

or ''

'' company was known as the prima donna, literally the "first lady". This woman, usually the principal soprano of the company, would typically perform leading roles and generally sing more music than other women in the company. Famous opera ''prime donne'' have often caused opera enthusiasts to divide into opposing "clubs", supporting one singer over another. The rivalry between the fans of

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

and

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian spinto soprano, lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-World War II, war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, San ...

, for example, was one of the most famous, despite the friendship of the two singers. The designation ''prima donna assoluta'' () is occasionally applied to a prima donna of outstanding excellence. It has also been used to describe the creators of heroic

coloratura Coloratura ( , , ; , from ''colorata'', the past participle of the verb ''colorare'', 'to color') is a passage of music holding elaboration to a melody. The elaboration usually takes the form of runs, trills, wide leaps or other virtuoso ma ...

roles in the first half of the 19th century. The woman who sang the second major part in an opera was, correspondingly, referred to as the ''seconda donna''; by the late 18th century, this role was sometimes called the ''altra prima donna''.

Personality

At times, these ''prime donne'' had grand off-stage personalities and strict demands of fellow troupe members, musicians, set and wardrobe designers, producers, and other staff. However, they were deferentially tolerated because of their consummate talent and their draw at the box office. From this experience, the term ''prima donna'' has come into common usage in any field, denoting someone who behaves in a demanding, often temperamental fashion, revealing an inflated view of themselves, their talent, and their importance. Due to this association, the contemporary meaning of the word has taken on the negative connotation of a

vain Vain may refer to: * Vain (band), an American glam metal band formed in 1986 * Vain (horse) (1966–1991), an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse * Vain Stakes, an Australian Thoroughbred horse race * Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia, a medical dis ...

, undisciplined,

egotistical Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance distinguished by a person's amplified vision of one's self and self-importanc ...

, obnoxious, or temperamental person who finds it difficult to work under direction or as part of a team but whose contributions are essential to the success of the team.

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an list of companies of the United States by state, American company that publishes reference work, reference books and is mostly known for Webster's Dictionary, its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary pub ...

"prima donna"
Merriam-Webster.com.

Opera

Personality

See also

References

Further reading