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Diva Plavalaguna is a famous and revered operatic performer in the film's universe. She is the trusted contact of the Mondoshawans, who entrusted the elemental stones to her for safekeeping before their demise at the hands of Mangalore mercenaries.

History[]

The Diva is referenced, though not by identity, as the contact Leeloo is meant to meet with to obtain the stones early in the film. She would be located on Fhloston at a luxurious hotel where she was set to perform. 

She is described as having outstanding performances by Ruby Rhod, and appears to be a subject of great respect and admiration, as her show at the hotel was populated by dignitaries and celebrities from all over the cosmos. She is seen for the first time being escorted to her suite in the hotel by her companions and hotel security. The awestruck head of security stammers and appears nervous in front of her.

She senses Leeloo's presence behind a wall down the hallway. Turning to one of her companions and communicating quietly, she sends the companion to tell Leeloo that she is happy she is here and she will give her what she came for. 

The Diva is next seen in the opera hall, giving what turned out to be her final performance. She sings a slow, melancholy melody at first, that suddenly becomes more upbeat and impressive as she delivers talent that evokes a standing ovation from the crowd. 

Later, the Diva is shot through the abdomen while still on stage by invading Mangalores. She falls, with Korben reaching to her and pulling her down to the floor behind the seats. Encouraging her to stay awake, he implores her to tell him where the stones are. She tells him about Leeloo's strength, and that she is more fragile than she appears, requiring both his love and support to complete her mission. She informs him with her dying breath that the stones were "...in me." Korben deciphers this to mean that the stones were literally being housed inside her, being able to access them by reaching through the bullet hole in her abdomen and pulling them out.

Appearance[]

Shrouded in both mystery and by veil, The Diva's more apparent qualities include a tall stature, blue coloration throughout her entire body (as well as her blood), vocal articulation far beyond that of any human as well as the apparent ability to use parts of her body for storage of moderately sized objects.

The Diva has several smooth, tentacle-like protrusions that are several feet long extending from her head and back.The nature of these tentacles are never explained throughout the movie. As mentioned, she has light blue skin and eyes, and dark blue blood. She appears quite tall in comparison to the humans around her. She appears quite slender from the waist up; her legs are not seen. Her head, while humanoid in the face, has a unique posterior end, which is large narrowed into a slight curl, similar to the head of an octopus. She has black finger nails and dark blue lips.

Voice and abilities[]

DivaPlavalaguna

The Diva

Her voice when speaking is musical and ethereal, unlike any human voice, overlain so that it seems that there are two voices speaking at the same time. This implies that her vocal cords may pass air to create a voice in two different places, creating the illusion of two voices, or perhaps even the possession of two complete sets of vocal cords, supporting her incredible range and vocal abilities. The intricacies of this is not explored in the film.

Her singing voice, which she uses to perform opera, is a highly flexible soprano that ranges from almost a high alto register all the way up into coloratura. The operatic feats heard during her vocal performance in the film are nearly physically impossible for humans, supporting her fame and rarity.

It appears that she may have a preternatural intuition. She was able to accurately detect Leeloo's presence nearby without having seen her. Although she'd never met Korben, she was able to pinpoint his role in Leeloo's mission, as she is seen gesturing to him during her opera performance and tells him about Leeloo and the stones while she is dying.

The Diva is quite graceful, as her footsteps could not be heard as she walked. She appeared to glide across the floor in her first appearance. Even after being shot, she spread her arms in a dramatic fashion before gracefully allowing her body to fall to the floor of the stage.

Personality[]

The Diva's character is not explored in depth in the film. She appears to be calm, quiet, and somewhat withdrawn, only communicating with her trusted companion as a vessel to speak to Leeloo. She can be thought of as mysterious, as her arrival at the hotel showed her shrouded in a blue veil with only her eyes showing. The Diva, in accordance with her title, can be considered formal, proper and polite. She seems concerned with the welfare of Leeloo when she is speaking with Korben.

One of the Diva's more hidden traits is her ability to telepathically communicate with others in her entourage as seen in her nonverbal interactions and communication with them.

It is said that her home planet is in the Angel constellation.

Name[]

Plavalaguna, Diva's name, is actually comprised of two words concatenated: Plava and Laguna. "Plava" means Blue in Serbian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Bosnian languages (feminine form, masculine would be "plav"). "Laguna" means lagoon in the same languages. So her name is Blue Lagoon. (Milla Jovovich also played Lilli in Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991).) Diva's name has been inspired by the Plava Laguna resort in Poreč, Croatia, where Luc Besson vacationed a few times.

Behind the scenes[]

The Diva is played by French Actress Maiwenn Le Besco, the then-wife of Luc Besson. Her singing voice is provided by Albanian opera singer Inva Mula-Tchako.

Trivia[]

  • Her species is unknown but the script and novelization lists her as a "human-alien hybrid". Although her non-human lineage is uncertain, she is described as possessing the special beauty of all the races in the galaxy, except, of course, the hideous Mangalores.
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