Angelina Jolie’s 2024 film Maria is all set to hit India in coming weeks. It is an acclaimed biographical drama exploring the untold stories behind Callas’s rise to fame and enduring legacy. It is set against the dramatic backdrop of 1970s Paris as Angelina brings to life the unparalleled opera icon. The film has been praised for its breathtaking visuals and Jolie’s emotionally charged performance.
For the unversed, the film follows Maria Callas, a world-renowned Greek-American soprano. Often called La Divina, she rose to fame in the 1940s and 1950s revolutionizing opera with her powerful performances. The film will also be seen exploring her personal struggles as well as immense success. Maria had a turbulent relationship with Aristotle Onassis and her career graph changed after a vocal decline. The makers have also confirmed that the film is not a factual timeline but a lyrical, intimate portrait. Director Pablo Larraín (known for Spencer and Jackie) has brought the story in his signature style with blending memory, longing, and imagination, to honor not just what happened, but what it may have felt like to Maria.
Jolie while talking about the character said, singing wasn’t just part of the role. She explained, “Well, Pablo expected me to really work very, very hard, and he expected me to sing. I went into classes six or seven months before he expected me to really sing, to take Italian classes, to understand and study opera, to immerse myself completely and do the work, which for Maria, there was no other way.”
She added, “The funny thing as an actor, when you first start acting, somebody says, “Can you ride horses? Can you speak this language?” And as a young actor, you say, “yes” to everything. Then you go home, and you think, “Oh, I have to learn how to sing!” When Pablo said, “Can you sing?” I thought, “I mean, sure, a little,” but the truth is, as he said to me, “You have to learn how to sing opera, or I will be able to tell when we are close on your face, because it’s who she is.” But it was much more than that, it was to understand Maria Callas and be able to play the character. The music was her life. Her relationship to her voice and her body, her ability to sing, her presence on stage and her communication with the audience, it was her life. It was the key to her as well”.
SEE ALSO: The Last Of Us Exclusive! Bella Ramsey On How Different Season 2 Filming Was Without Pedro Pascal
Before the film’s release we are taking a look at the differences and similarities between the real and what’s shown in the film.
Was Maria Close To Her Staff ?
Maria Callas during after the successful career decided to live a quiet life in Paris but stayed in touch with her close friends and associates. The film will showcase how vulnerable, isolated and reflective the final years of her life were. According to reports, the film imagines her inner world, filling in the silences history left behind. Callas thought of the two Mezzadri and her cook Burna, as her chosen family. After serving in the Italian military, Ferruccio Mezzadri went to work for Callas in 1958 and spent the next 20 years in her employ. He has refused large sums of money to dish the dirt, but he has often spoken of the kindness Callas showed to him and Bruna Lupoli.
How Central Was Her Heartbreak To Her Story?
The relationship between Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis is central to her story. It is layered with passion, heartbreak, and lingering attachment when presented in the film. Meanwhile, in reality it was complex and complicated. There have been reports that confirmed Callas herself walked away from the relationship before Onassis married Jackie Kennedy.
Callas’s Singing Talent Reflects In The Film
Angelina Jolie trained for seven months and her performance is backed by real audio of Callas interwoven with new material. The makers also revealed that Jolie took months to embody Callas’s presence and poise on stage during training. Angelina Jolie also shared her thoughts about opera with Mashable India and said, “I have such a love of opera now, a real true love of opera, and I have it in my life now in a different way. I go now and I sit through it and let it overtake me and affect me. There’s something about opera that I hadn’t understood before. I think we do sometimes see it as an elitist thing that’s separate from us. It’s so huge. But maybe you have to go through certain things in life that have the depth of that pain or the depth of that love, where you now understand and need the size and feeling of opera.”
SEE ALSO: ONE PIECE VA Hiroaki Hirata On What Is Waiting For Sanji In The End; “Will Surpass Fishman Island’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Did Callas Hallucinate?
The makers have taken creative liberty with scenes involving hallucinations or imagined characters to explore Maria’s emotional state. It is unclear if she did and what she hallucinated about towards the end of her life, as the written martial does not reveal more information in deal.
How Did Maria Pass Away?
In the film the makers have not made it clear what Maria’s illness is but it require her to take a amount of prescription drugs. According to reports, heart failure was listed as the cause of Callas’ death. But Spence, who had access to her unpublished letters, recalled that Callas had suffered from dermatomyositis, a deteriorative autoimmune condition. The film also shows a doctor tells Maria’s butler Ferruccio that he is prescribing prednisone, a steroid, to combat an autoimmune condition that is causing her heart to fail.
The film received much praise from international critics and was expected to be Jolie’s big comeback with her performances. Maria is all set to debut exclusively in India on May 9th on Lionsgate Play.
Cover Image: Instagram