The Myth of the Diva: Female Opera Singers and Collaborative Performance in Early Eighteenth-Century London This dissertation explores how female opera singers transformed the production and reception of theatrical music in London between 1703 and 1720 by collaborating with other performers. My project uses previously unstudied musical and archival sources to challenge the dominant perspective of the female performer as “diva,” and argues instead that female singers were essential to the artistic process of opera production. Their performances of English masques, Italian and English operas, public concerts, and benefits capitalized on their professional relationships with composers, male performers, English actresses, and patrons in order to shape their the musical and dramatic content of the productions in which they starred.