Maria Callas biopic starring Angelina Jolie: cast, plot, music and trailers revealed

10 December 2024, 16:59 | Updated: 11 December 2024, 17:01

Angelina Jolie stars as Maria Callas in MARIA promo clip

Maria Callas, arguably the 20th century’s most influential opera singer, is portrayed by Angelina Jolie in a new film by Pablo Larraín.

Angelina Jolie has already been nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of ‘La Divina’, the legendary opera diva Maria Callas, in a new biopic from Chilean director Pablo Larraín.

Maria is set during the singer’s final days in 1970s Paris, and is based on “true accounts” of Callas’ life – one filled with music, passion and tragedy. The film is due to be released in January 2025 in UK cinemas.

The biopic is directed by Larraín (Jackie) and with a screenplay by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders). Larraín and Knight previously collaborated on the 2021 biopic Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as Diana, former Princess of Wales.

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.”

Read more: First look at ‘Maria’ biopic as Angelina Jolie becomes legendary opera star Maria Callas

Watch the trailer for Maria

What is the plot of ‘Maria’?

Maria tells “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”, according to a press release.

Hailed by Leonard Bernstein as “the Bible of opera”, Callas remains one of opera’s most adored figures.

A leading exponent of the bel canto works of Bellini and Rossini, the New York-born Greek soprano was also widely celebrated for her Verdi and Puccini interpretations; a recording of her singing Tosca in 1952 is considered unparalleled.

Callas’ story has also been coloured by events in her personal life, including her relationship with Aristotle Onassis who left her unexpectedly to marry Jackie Kennedy, the former first lady of the United States.

The singer spent the last years of her life living in isolation in Paris and died of a heart attack aged just 53.

Read more: Who was Maria Callas and why is she one of the greatest opera singers of all time?

Who is cast in ‘Maria’?

Angelina Jolie plays the American-born, Greek soprano Maria Callas. The American actor told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022: “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.”

The cast also includes Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis) and Valeria Golino (Portrait of a Lady on Fire).

What is the music in ‘Maria’ and does Angelina Jolie sing in the film?

Angelina Jolie revealed she trained for “almost seven months” to give a convincing impression of being an opera star.

In the biopic, we hear some of Jolie’s voice, mixed with Maria Callas recordings. Director Pablo Larraín explained to Associated Press: “Opera requires a very particular style of singing, the pitch, the colour, the breathing, the posture.

“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.”

Callas’ signature piece ‘Casta Diva’ from Bellini’s opera Norma features in the film, prompting Jolie to reveal at a press conference that her relationship to the word ‘diva’ had changed through the aria. “I think I’ve relearned that word through Maria and ‘Casta Diva’,” she said. “And I have a new relationship to it.”

Read more: ‘Maestro’: Everything you need to know about Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic

When will ‘Maria’ be released?

Pablo Larraín’s Maria releases in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 10 January 2025.

Filming for Maria began in October 2023 and wrapped at the end of December.

Shooting took place over eight weeks across Europe, in Paris (France), Greece, Budapest (Hungary) and Milan (Italy). Hungary is notably where Jolie made her own directing debut 13 years prior, as she filmed the 2011 war drama, In the Land of Blood and Honey, in the cities of Budapest and Esztergom in 2010.

The biopic is produced by Fabula Pictures’ Juan de Dios Larraín, Fremantle Company’s Apartment Pictures’ Lorenzo Mieli, and Komlizen Film’s Jonas Dornbach.