In a new Pablo Larraín film, Angelina Jolie will play Maria Callas, perhaps the most important opera singer of the 20th century.
In a new biopic directed by Pablo Larraín of Chile, Angelina Jolie plays the role of “La Divina,” the renowned opera soprano Maria Callas.
Maria is based on “true accounts” of Callas’ life, which is full of song, passion, and sorrow, and is set in Paris in the 1970s during the singer’s last days. Netflix is scheduled to distribute the movie in 2024.
Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) wrote the screenplay and Larraín (Jackie) is the director of the biopic. Prior to this, Larraín and Knight worked together on the 2021 biopic Spencer, which starred Kristen Stewart as the former Princess of Wales Diana.
Larraín added: “Having the chance to combine my two most deep and personal passions, cinema and opera, has been a long-awaited dream. To do this with Angelina, a supremely brave and curious artist, is a fascinating opportunity. A true gift.”
What is the Plot of ‘Maria’?
According to the press release, Maria will narrate “the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.”
Callas is still one of the most beloved characters in opera, having been hailed by Leonard Bernstein as “the Bible of opera.”
The Greek singer, who was born in New York, was a prominent performer of Bellini and Rossini’s bel canto pieces and was particularly praised for her renditions of Verdi and Puccini; her 1952 recording of Tosca is regarded as the best.
Events in Callas’ personal life, such as her connection with Aristotle Onassis, who abruptly left her to wed Jackie Kennedy, the former first lady of the United States, have also influenced her plot.
The singer passed away at the age of 53 from a heart attack after spending the latter years of her life alone in Paris.
Who is Cast in ‘Maria’?
The Greek soprano Maria Callas, who was born in America, will be portrayed by Angelina Jolie. “I take very seriously the responsibility to Maria’s life and legacy. I will give all I can to meet the challenge.”
“Pablo Larraín is a director I have long admired. To be allowed the chance to tell more of Maria’s story with him, and with a script by Steven Knight, is a dream.”
Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis), Valeria Golino (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Pierfrancesco Favino, and Alba Rohrwacher are also part of the cast.
What is the music in ‘Maria’ and will Angelina Jolie be singing?
To convey the idea that she was an opera diva, Angelina Jolie explained she trained for “almost seven months.”
“Opera requires a very particular style of singing, the pitch, the colour, the breathing, the posture,” director Pablo Larraín told the Associated Press.
“We recorded Angie’s voice and we mixed it with Maria – different levels, sometimes it’s a tiny bit of Angie and mostly Maria,” he added. “Sometimes it’s more. But it’s always there.”
It is likely Callas’ signature aria ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s opera Norma will feature in the film. Jolie revealed at a press conference that her relationship to the word ‘diva’ had changed through ‘Casta Diva’, saying: “I think I’ve relearned that word through Maria and ‘Casta Diva’. And I have a new relationship to it.”
When will ‘Maria’ be Released?
“Maria” will be available for viewing on Netflix on December 11 and at select theatres in the US on November 27. On January 10, 2025, it will be released in theatres in the United Kingdom.
Maria was filmed from October 2023 till the end of December 2023.
Over the course of eight weeks, filming was done in Paris, France; Greece; Budapest, Hungary; and Milan, Italy. Notably, Jolie made her directorial debut in Hungary thirteen years earlier, when she shot the 2011 war drama In the Land of Blood and Honey in the 2010 cities of Budapest and Esztergom.
The biopic is produced by Jonas Dornbach of Komlizen Film, Lorenzo Mieli of Fremantle Company’s Apartment Pictures, and Juan de Dios Larraín of Fabula Pictures.
Topics #AngelinaJolie #BiopicFilms #MariaCallasBiopic #MovieTrailer #News
