Mesmerising skill as singer channels 10 famed divas in new show.

They’re exacting. Charismatic. Often demanding. But if there’s one thing we all seem to agree on when defining a diva, it’s an artist with an exceptional voice.

“I’ve always thought Maria Callas is the epitome of a diva because she was a perfectionist and demanded so much of herself and others and was an extraordinary artist,” says Australian singer Bernadette Robinson. “Of course, now a diva also has the connotation of being a princess, a bit fussy and difficult.”

Robinson should know. The Australian opera-trained singer is capable of embodying the distinctive vocals, idiosyncrasies and occasionally troubled histories of 10 of the best singers of all time. “Amy Winehouse talks about her drinking and says she doesn’t wanna go to rehab. She’s funny. Miley Cyrus talks about having to have vocal surgery and touches on her past issues with drugs. So we had plenty to work with.

“They’re huge stars, so in many ways they lived these unrealistic lives,” says Robinson. “It’s not normal, that kind of pressure.”

So just how demanding is it, switching between 10 of the most renowned singing stars in the world?

“It’s big, it’s all-ranging!” she laughs. “But it’s my own doing. I wanted it to be as diverse as humanly possible in terms of the styles and eras of the performers, and as accurate as I could to capture their voices.”

Her one-woman show Divas has been wowing audiences in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, and in October, the ASB Waterfront Theatre will bring the show and its multiple personalities to the City of Sails.

Audiences will spend a night in the company of musical icons, as Robinson channels Callas alongside Edith Piaf, Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Karen Carpenter, Dolly Parton, Kate Bush, Amy Winehouse and Miley Cyrus.

In her previous show Songs for Nobodies, Robinson played five divas in a show that went to London’s West End, where everyone from Emma Thompson to Helena Bonham Carter queued up afterwards to congratulate her performance. Rave reviews followed, with The Times of London calling Robinson “a jaw-dropping talent,” as did a nomination for an Olivier award.

The new show is shaping up to be an even bolder display of Robinson’s singing and acting talent. One of the songs in Divas is Bassey’s Diamonds Are Forever, the lyrics of which were written by Don Black, (the Oscar-winning lyricist behind Born Free). After watching Robinson’s take on Bassey, he said: “I am still reeling from her landmark performance. I haven’t been so impressed since I saw Sammy Davis, Jr! … She doesn’t sing songs, she lives them.’’

Between songs, there’ll be a glimpse of the divas’ personalities and personal lives, as the singer banters to the crowd, the traits of each singer’s speaking voice captured by listening to interviews with each artist. While researching the show, Robinson was fascinated to discover that Shirley Bassey lost her voice when her daughter died. Even Barbra Streisand, one of Robinson’s childhood idols, suffered from severe stage fright, and the effervescent Dolly Parton went through a bout of depression.

They are vulnerabilities that might have put some off pursuing a career as a singer, yet Robinson says she’s been belting out musical numbers since she was in the cot. She grew up idolising Judy Garland, the one singer on the list she says she feels is the closest to her natural singing voice.

Later she studied opera in Melbourne with the legendary Dame Joan Hammond, who was born in Christchurch and made her name as an opera star in Australia and Europe. Once she started stepping into the famous shoes of musical legends, Robinson would come to count Dame Maureen Lipman, Sir Derek Jacobi and the late Barry Humphries among her famous fans.

But no matter who she’s singing (or singing to), Robinson says she approaches each artist’s work with love and respect: “It’s not caricature. This is an absolute homage to their work.”

Keeping the set design stripped back, with just one costume providing a blank canvas onto which the actor and singer will infuse with the spirit of her characters, she is optimistic audiences will be just as excited as they have been across the ditch.

“I hope they’ll be thrilled. The feedback I’m getting here is that people are overwhelmed, they’re moved, they find it funny. If Kiwi audiences are anything like the Australians, I think they’ll love it.”

DIVAS will show at the ASB Waterfront Theatre from Wednesday, October 11 until Sunday, October 22. Buy tickets at asbwaterfronttheatre.co.nz