MARIA: Angelina Jolie Portrays Greek Soprano Maria Callas

Angelina Jolie cast as Maria Callas

Angelina Jolie portrays dramatic soprano in the biopic Maria.

If ever there was a mainstream superstar in the world of grand opera, Maria Callas would most likely be the one. Angelina Jolie is certainly up to the dramatic challenge in Maria.

Maria Callas may not have been the most conventional soprano by all accounts, but she certainly was the most dramatic, on stage and off. Her glamorous looks, fiery temper, blunt honesty, and unbridled engagement with her roles on stage, all contributed to her notoriety. As to the quality of her voice, critics remain somewhat at odds, but all agree that it was unique — a voice that was recognized as hers and hers alone. Even its flaws contributed to its beauty.

In the past, Ms. Jolie has turned tough roles into triumphs. Recalling her performance as Maleficent, a diva par excellence, this should show moxie enough to convey the soprano’s artistry on the screen.

After all, there is plenty of drama in Ms. Callas’ background apart from her career that makes for a remarkable story, fraught with pathos. She had made a slow start in opera as well, despite her obvious talent even as a toddler. But once she had started, she blossomed in a matter of months, thanks as much to her diligence and determination as her gifted tutors. Gradually, as her talent emerged, so did her public persona. The near-sighted girl of 14 soon carved a tall, svelte woman from those extra pounds, with a figure as beautiful as her voice.

Director Pablo Larraín’s recent successes with Spencer and Jackie has suggested a real flair for female-centered biopics, especially with these title characters. Kristin Stewart earned an Academy Award nomination for the former, as did Natalie Portman for the latter. Pablo and his brother, Juan de Dios, produced the Oscar-winning film, A Fantastic Woman, a drama with a transgendered female at the center. Pablo will team up with his brother once again for Maria, and they may very well strike Oscar gold this time for Ms. Jolie, and perhaps for themselves as well.

Steven Knight, who collaborated with the Larraín Brothers on Spencer, and took a nomination of his own, has evidently already authored the screenplay and focuses on Callas’ last days in Paris. At this point she had already abandoned her career — in fact, had stopped singing altogether — but why she did so is open to question. Some say that her vocal abilities were rotting as quickly as they had ripened; others claim that her talent consumed her to the exclusion of everything else, especially “trying to fulfill my life as a woman,” according to her friend, Franco Zeffirelli. In this regard, Ms. Jolie will no doubt find purchase in conveying all the pathos behind this remarkable artist.

Was she trying to compensate for the affection she had missed out as a child, as many children did in war-torn Europe? In any event, the most consistent fact seems to be how thoroughly a slave to success Callas found in her gift, and ultimately her life, even as it drove her to greatness.

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