What's Your Fancy: Monica Bellucci Shares Her 6 Essentials to Channel Maria Callas

What exactly does it take for the Italian actress to embody the opera legend on stage?

By Isiah MagsinoPublished: Feb 10, 2023 10:03 AM EST

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Maria Callas came back to life last month for one night only. More accurately, the Italian actress Monica Bellucci embodied La Divina at the Beacon Theatre in New York as part of a one-woman show directed by Tom Volf that sees her reciting Callas's previously unpublished letters.

More such tributes are coming in this Callas's centennial year: No less a figure than Angelina Jolie is playing her in an announced biopic. Considering the late legend's outsize hold on her rabid fan base of "Callas Crazoids," Bellucci's performance, which she has been doing on and off since 2019, is no easy task, but it registers as a sincere homage from one diva to another.

She's an acclaimed performer in her own right and a fashion muse to many, including Michael Kors, who on the occasion of the show's New York berth gathered a few friends of the house for a night at the theater and a celebratory toast afterward at the Carlyle Hotel. Here, Bellucci tells us the six essential products that helped her prepare and perform her Callas.

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"I love them all, how could one not? But, there is a special place in my heart for Carmen, Hamburg 1962. In that record, I can hear a singer at the height of her career, but I can also feel a woman in her full femininity, at a moment in her life when she was abundantly energized."

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"Maria Callas had a long-standing relationship with Saint-Laurent, and she wore the designer's dresses to perform. I had the honor of wearing one of her YSL gowns for the shows! It was very powerful to put it on, it felt like I was slipping into her skin."

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Like Callas, Bellucci swears by a little black dress. "The LBD is timeless, for all occasions, all ages and styles. Designers are still drawing and making them today. I love wearing them and Maria Callas wore them - and I think she would still enjoy them today."

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And, of course, Michael Kors carries a black dress Bellucci finds irresistible."I love it because it is dateless, it could be a period piece or contemporary. That is the kind of fashion that I love: classic, sensual, elegant."

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Along with a black dress, Bellucci finds that aromas also help channel Maria Callas. "Someone gifted me the perfume that Maria wore, and I would put it on just before going on stage. I also listened to Carmen!"

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For the long performance, Bellucci relies on one simple essential to help with her stamina. "I speak on stage for on hour an a half. So I make sure to stay very hydrated. I drink a lot of water before the show and had a little bottle on stage, which helped me sustain my energy!"