Angelina Jolie Casts Doubts on Broadway Future Amid MARIA Role

Despite playing legendary opera singer Angelina Jolie in an upcoming biopic, The Outsiders producer doesn't think that performing on Broadway is in her future. 

“I would love to, but I’d be very shy. But if you asked me if I would be singing opera a year ago, I probably would have said no,” she shared during a recent interview with Variety. “I started with Strasberg and I started in theater so of course I would love to. But deep deep down, I probably don’t think I’m good enough," she added.

For the film Maira, which releases on Netflix in December, the actress worked with opera singers and vocal coaches to properly replicate both the singer's form and match Callas' accent. She practiced classic operas and arias for the role, singing live on set. The final result is a mix of Callas' actual performances and Jolie's vocals.

Even with all of this preparation, Jolie said she's not sure "if anybody wants" to see her star in a Broadway musical. As a producer of The Outsiders, Jolie was honored for her efforts with the show by winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. 

Maria is a creative imagining and psychological portrait of Maria Callas, set in Paris, September 1977, during the final week of Callas' life. Maria follows the soprano as she negotiates her public image and private self and reckons with the increasingly blurred boundaries between the venerated “La Divina” and the vulnerable human being.

It is directed by Pablo Larraín from a screenplay by Steven Knight. Maria marks Larraín's third biopic following Jackie and Spencer, centering on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Princess Diana, respectively. 

Maria, which is said to include operatic interludes, features a supporting cast that includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Valeria Golino. It will be available on Netflix December 11, 2024, following a select theatrical release on November 27, 2024. 

The story of Maria Callas has previously been told onstage in Terrence McNally's play Master Class. The original 1996 production won three Tony Awards and a Drama Desk Award, with the 2011 revival winning a Tony as well. The play follows a master class given by Callas late in her career in which she offers her musical advice, judgment, and thoughts on her contemporaries. Maria Callas has been portrayed by Tyne Daly, Zoe Caldwell, and Patti LuPone. Photo credit: Pablo Larraín/Netflix.

Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas