Why Dame Kiri and Gin Wigmore deny the diva mantra

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Photo / Martin Sykes

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, 66, may have surprised many by rubbishing Susan Boyle as a flash in the pan and a product of the "whiz-bang" world of reality television, but Paul Henry wasn't fazed.

"She's a nasty old diva," he said this morning on the telly.

Certainly her sneering remarks are nothing new.

Two years ago she dismissed the talents of compatriot opera singer Hayley Westenra, telling the Herald, "Hayley doesn't move in my world." Ouch.

But while many may look on her comments as patronising and out of touch, there's no doubt the opera star just views them as honest and forthright.

She has, in the past, credited her mother with her straight-talking tendencies. But has this inherent self-confidence contributed to her diva image?

This week, during that infamous interview, the celebrated soprano denied suggestions she was a diva at all.

She told Radio Times magazine: "I don't think I'm a diva. I'm just a human being with an opinion that I'm not allowed, at 66-years-old, to select."

There's no denying she has a distinct regal air and a touch of grandeur about her, helped, no doubt, by performing at the Prince of Wales' marriage and the Queen's Jubilee celebrations. But let's not forget Kiri comes from humble beginnings.

She was born in Tokomaru Bay to a young waitress and butcher and was later adopted by Tom Te Kanawa, a Maori haulage contractor, and his Pakeha wife Nell.

In a revelatory interview with Britain's Daily Mail in 2002, Te Kanawa described what it was like growing up as a young Maori girl in a mixed race family.

"We lived in a very small community, very insular, very isolated. You have to remember that in those days it was the not the thing to speak Maori. My father spoke it, but he would never utter a sound [in front of me]... It is sad. Especially now, it would be very valuable to me because I could go among the Maori people and speak the language and encourage them to better themselves - which is what you do once you reach my time of life and status."

Comments such as these may appear condescending and superior, and psychologists would probably have a field day analysing issues of identity and abandonment, but clearly Te Kanawa feels compelled to contribute.

While she slammed the I Dreamed A Dream singer for being a fly-by-nighter, Te Kanawa has her own dreams.

She is behind the BBC Radio 2 Kiri Prize which aims to find an opera star of the future and her Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation helps talented young Kiwis in the arts.

No surprise, both contributions are eponymous. On the radio prize, Te Kanawa told Radio Times: "This competition is named after me and has far more stability."

But are we to confuse ego with diva?

Meanwhile, on the other side of our music divide, pop singer Gin Wigmore, who is currently touring Australia, was quick to deny she aims to be a preening pop diva.

"I'm not aiming to be someone like Christina Aguilera," she told Sydney's Daily Telegraph yesterday.

"I don't see that as a pinnacle."

The 23-year-old says she'd much prefer to be perceived as an Edith Piaf or Etta James.

"I like the old school stuff, not just because of the way it sounds but also the history of it. You had to be really good back in the day with no bells and whistles and I think that work ethic is lost at times these days, which is sad."

Bells and whistles? Whiz-bang? Tomato; tomaeto?