Check out Faculty member Rebecca Brown’s essay on opera diva Stephanie Blythe in The Stranger…
“…The word “diva” is Italian for “goddess,” and human culture is full of humans who, if they try to approach the divine too closely, get burned (though not always literally). You’re supposed to behave reverently when you want to meet with a being who is supreme. The Scarecrow and Tin Man and Cowardly Lion and Dorothy were washed and freshly clothed before they met the Wizard. Moses took off his shoes before G-d. To meet what is higher than you, you must acknowledge the need and lowness of yourself. Some gods require a sacrifice, but sometimes they come down, not just like tramping Jupiter, but to inspire us in forms we can approach…”
http://www.thestranger.com/theater/features/2015/02/18/21733002/the-problem-with-diva-worship)
