Maria Callas: Letters & Memories

Monica Belucci is coming to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. We thought we'd start with something as plain as that, so that it sinks in. Having one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in the world perform under the Acropolis is big news enough, even without mentioning the role she will be performing. One year after this hot ticket was postponed thanks to Covid, Belucci will be incarnating opera singer Maria Callas and she will be doing so while struggling with her own fear of the stage—yes you read that right, Monica Belucci, with a 40-year-long career in modeling and acting, suffers from stage fright.

"Going on stage is almost a kind of violence that I put myself through", says Belucci adding that as opposed to films, where scenes are shot one by one, in theatre one's concentration must last for the duration of the show. Last time Belucci was asked to shoot a long scene, was THAT 20-minute one from Gaspar Noe's Irreversible, taking its toll on all of us.

Maria Callas: Letters and Memories is a monologue based on unpublished letters of the great soprano. The project, directed by Tom Volf (who also directed 2017's Maria by Callas documentary starring Fanny Ardant), debuted in Paris at the Bouffes Parisiens in spring 2019, before being cancelled due to you-know-what. Tickets, as you can imagine, are limited and selling out fast.