Erin Mackey, Julia Murney conductor Steven Reineke and the Philadelphia Orchestra
“Diva” is a word I’d personally like to eradicate from the lexicon. It’s often a dig wrapped in a compliment – a slap at a talented woman by implying that she’s difficult by default.
But it’s also a term commonly used to describe a leading female opera singer, or – in a campier sense – marquee-topping women in popular music.
For “Wicked Divas” night at SPAC last Thursday, two nights before the Philadelphia Orchestra ended its summer Saratoga run, the word “diva” was used broadly to tie together the most disparate of music – from the Broadway musicals of “Gypsy,” “Chicago,” “Ragtime” and, of course, “Wicked,” to the disco dance-floor hits of Diana Ross, Gloria Esteban and Donna Summer.
“I remember the first concert I saw – Led Zeppelin – because it had much more impact on me.
“I grew up in the Virgin Islands – an island called St. John – and that’s where I saw Third World. That was my first live music experience.
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