Bernadette Robinson: A date with 10 divas

What makes a diva?

Australian singer and powerhouse Bernadette Robinson should know.

Ask Robinson that question, and she'll tell you exactly what a diva is — to be more exact, she'll show you 10 of them.

In her one-woman show, DIVAS, opera-trained performer Robinson embodies the distinctive vocals, idiosyncrasies and personalities of 10 of the best singers of all time — from Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton, Karen Carpenter, Amy Winehouse, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Maria Callas, Edith Piaf, Shirley Bassey to Judy Garland.

Her show has been wowing audiences over in Australia, and now Kiwi audiences will get to witness Robinson's multiple diva personalities when she brings DIVAS to Auckland this month.

What defines a diva?

"The whole idea of a diva to me is someone who is a great singer, and above being just a normal person," Robinson told Breakfast.

"A lot of these women have had something terrible happen in their lives, and often to do with the voice," she said. "It's all about the relationship with the voice and the audience, and that's what sets them apart I think."

Robinson said the inspiration for the show came from her previous performances.

"I've done a lot of shows and plays where I've played characters in speaking roles and singing roles, and so I just extended it and instead of five singers, I brought to life 10 great singers — and as diverse as I could possibly think of.

"They all had to be extraordinary singers and extraordinary lives, and that's why I saw them as divas."

Narrowing down which women to portray also presented a challenge.

"It was so hard to narrow it down to 10, but I thought someone like Edith Piaf, everyone loves her. Such moving music and her story is sad. Someone like Shirly Bassey who's still going strong at 85 — another one who is extraordinary," Robinson shared.

"We wanted as many different styles as we could in the show."

Her favourite diva to portray? That changes from performance to performance, Robinson said.

DIVAS is coming to Auckland's ASB Waterfront Theatre from October 11 to 22.