Portia in The Merchant of Venice has all the hallmarks of a great diva, such as Isabella Andreini or Vincenza Armani. She is famous beyond Italy, prodigiously intellectual, versatile, and brilliantly clever at devising plots that show off her acting skills, especially cross-gender disguise. Portia banters, plots, and travels with the confidence of a seasoned professional, while suitors and observers extol her golden virtues in paeans like those lavished on star actresses. Yet the diva of Belmont is too good to be true and too theatrical to be good; audiences might well interpret her artful cunning, sophistication, and duplicity as “dark” Italian qualities. In fact, Portia’s zest for acting, wifely insubordination, casual racism, and notable lack of mercy tend to unsettle her mask of moral perfection, as she relishes her diva-like domination of Morocco, Shylock, Bassanio, and Antonio.