One of the most popular and pre-eminent sopranos of the 1960s and 70s, Renata Scotto, who has died aged 89, was a singer who relished the role of a diva both on and off stage. The title of her 1984 autobiography, More Than a Diva (a sourcebook of her acerbic put-downs of colleagues), implicitly acknowledged the persona for which she was renowned.
Not afraid to slap Giuseppe di Stefano across the face mid-performance (he had wandered off the stage to eat an apple during a duet with her), she knew her own worth and demanded it be recognised. Early in her career she was perceived as a rival to that other great diva, Maria Callas, and was also subjected to invidious comparisons with singers such as Renata Tebaldi and Joan Sutherland.
