Divas and Icons exhibition opens in House of Music Hungary

Opening the exhibition on Friday, Magdolna Zavogyan, the state secretary for culture, said that “the fact that V&A has taken its hugely successful Divas exhibition first to Budapest on its international tour illustrates Hungary’s international cultural position”. She welcomed that the Budapest exhibition has been complemented with sections featuring Hungarian celebrities.

Andras Batta, House of Music’s managing director, said that the exhibition presents on 1,000 square metres the personal stories of famed divas, their iconic items and their role in society over the past two hundred years.

Kate Bailey, curator of the V&A London exhibition, said the Budapest show featured 70 international divas since the emergence of opera divas in the 19th century followed by Hollywood stars and pop and rock icons of the 60s until the present days. It illustrates how the divas have inspired changes in society with their voice and personality, she said, adding that the Hungarian section had broadened the original London show into “a bigger, better and bolder” exhibition.

The exhibition, viewed in London by 300,000 visitors, presents dresses worn on stage by Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Cher, Adele, Sade, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Rihanna, Amy Winehouse and Bjork as well as by Maria Callas, Edith Piaf, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. The Hungarian section presents the costumes and life stories of Hungarian performers such as opera diva Eva Marton, actresses Lujza Blaha and Katalin Karady, and singers Zsuzsa Koncz, Zsuzsa Cserhati, Zseda and Bori Peterfy.

The Budapest exhibition will run until September 15.