Clara Belladonna
(a.k.a. LaClaraDonna)
Hello all my lovelies! I hope you've been well. I am fine and healthy, worry not, but this story that I am about to tell is quite a terrifying one...Talk to anyone in the Italian music scene, and nearly all of them have worked with or heard of Clara Belladonna (née Ricci), or perhaps her Twitch username LaClaraDonna. Talk to the patrons of many Roman theatres and opera houses, and they will have definitely heard her sing. Talk to people on social media, and many of them will remember her famous Twitter meltdown in November of 2021. Talk to mages on Earth, and they'll mention one of their most dire breaches of the Terra Doctrine. One thing is for certain: when it comes to Belladonna, everyone has an opinion.
Roots and Operatic Career
Belladonna has claimed on many occasions that she learned to sing before she learned to speak, and considering her meteoric rise to fame in the Roman opera community, the claim might have some merit. Joining her town's church choir at a young age, she was immediately singled out for her clear and powerful voice. It was no surprise then, following the end of her lyceum studies, she enrolled at the prestigious Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia in Rome to continue honing her voice for stage. She was quickly signed on with an agent who later got her into a small role in the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, one of the most famous opera houses in the world.It has been quite a time since I was last able to perform in front of an audience, but I will never forget my first role at the Teatro dell'Opera. I had quaking knees like you would not believe!Belladonna quickly became one of the most beloved members of the Roman opera community. There were many who doubted her due to her inexperience, but she rapidly rose to the challenge of the ever-more-prominent roles that she earned in the Italian capital's opera houses. She was, most famously, Carmen from the play of the same name in the Teatro dell'Opera's 2018/2019 season, a role she would later reprise in 2021.
Pandemic and Pivot to Online Performance
Weeks before Belladonna's performance as Elvira in the Teatro's performance of I puritani, word came that, due to worries regarding the novel coronavirus, the Teatro would be shut down for an indefinite period of time. Belladonna was devastated, as she had married her husband Guido Belladonna a couple of months before; she had originally met him after his breakout role as Arturo in the same opera.You have all supported me so much since I had to leave my beloved opera behind. While I can now return to my favourite theatres, I enjoy playing for you most of all.Knowing that it was unlikely that she would return to the stage anytime soon, Belladonna looked into other options. A friend of hers pointed out Twitch streaming her singing as an idea for her. Not for the money, as the Belladonnas were very comfortably wealthy by this point, but for the opportunity to perform for others in a difficult time. She leapt at the chance and, seeing as Guido was an accomplished piano player as well, the pair started LaClaraDonna in April 2020.
Fame and Fortune
Belladonna’s channel developed at a staggering rate as her operatic style “filled a niche in the online age,” as one fan put it. Soon, hundreds were tuning in to her twice weekly streams where she would discuss the day’s events (in Italian, of course) and take redeemed requests from the chatbox. In August 2020, she and Guido surprised the world with the announcement of their first album of music. A variety of operatic tunes written by Belladonna and accompanied by Guido on the piano or as a male counterpart, Una notte a Roma became an instant hit in Italy and across the world, catapulting Belladonna from local to international fame. The release of her second album in April 2021, Cose terribili, trended on Twitter in several countries, including the United States.Nothing but love for my American friends! "Cose terribili" occupa il primo posto degli acquisti online su ITunes in America!!
The Terrible Thing
Clara Belladonna would have simply been another famous Terran celebrity for the Multiverse's mage community, were it not for the events of November 16th, 2021. According to later testimonials kept in the Scalegrey Institute, Clara was recently on her way home from the recently-reopened Teatro dell'Opera when she was accosted by a figure who claimed that she would make a "great sacrifice for the Darkness Within." She thankfully was able to escape her attacker, but the experience markedly changed her presence in the world.I feel like I've been given a second chance to try and fight back against the great terrible evil that lies underneath our society. I will not let you down.Naturally, her followers were completely dumbstruck by her story. Many claimed that she made it up, others that she misheard the attacker, others still that she was actually the victim of some other conspiracy. But the fact that the local mage community were aware of a demonic cult operating in that neighbourhood and the high-profile nature of the near-victim complicated matters immediately.
Third Album and "Conspiracy Era"
Belladonna continued putting out music, including a third album Addio a odiatori in January 2022, but she turned her eye more and more to social activism. Her targets were the so-called "mystics" and "witches" that were secretly in charge of international society and, in her opinion, went around committing atrocities left, right and centre.My dearest fan (a)nuovaeradellamusika was recently attacked by witches in Prague. Why are the authorities turning a blind eye every time the magicians hurt or kill us normal people?The Italian mage community has been on their own lockdown due to the highly-publicized nature of their activities should they be caught. A small handful of "witchfinder" groups have started in many large Italian cities due to Belladonna's activism, adding another layer of difficulty to even simple missions. Until Belladonna lays off the mage community, they've been ordered by the highest offices of the Seven to be as prudent as possible.
Content Warnings for this article include: Pandemic, homophobia, antisemitism. Reader discretion is advised.
Current Location
Species
Year of Birth
1995 CE
Birthplace
Civita Castellana, Italy
Children
Current Residence
Testaccio, Rome, Italy
Eyes
Blue
Hair
Long and tawny
Height
173 cm
Social Media Savvy
Every great online personality needs to ensure that they are easily accessible online, and LaClaraDonna is no exception. The operatic socialite has active accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, with many of her fans forming groups on Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit and other sites big and small. She also co-founded a stream team on Twitch consisting of Italian musicians and singers called La Nuova Era.Clara, I had the wonderful luck to hear you perform as one of the spirits in Die Zauberflöte very early in your career and watching you grow and blossom has been a wonderful experience!
I simply don't see the appeal of it. So she has a great voice? And streams on the internet? #laclaradonna sounds like fifty other streamers I know, big deal.
The difference is that she's cultured and refined, unlike you.
#LaClaraDonna refuses to answer questions about her belief in this so-called "global conspiracy." Considering that she's Italian, she probably means Jewish homosexuals or some other backwards-thinking thing.
The idea that Clara would ever be associated with hating Jews or gay people is ridiculous. I mean, she had a girl kiss a girl in that one song, so she can't be homophobic!
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Great article! Since the setting is close to our world it is pretty interesting to see things like tweets and twitch pop up in the article ^^ Loving those tweets at the side btw! Pretty interesting how she was able to take her work onto twitch and become even more popular. Now I am getting curious what those mages are actually up to.
What were they up to indeed? XD