Angelina Jolie 'Had Not Sung in Public' Before Playing Opera Singer Maria Callas

Before Angelina Jolie began preparations for playing legendary opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s latest biopic, the actress had never sung before in public.

“Everybody here knows, I was terribly nervous,” Jolie said at the press conference for Maria at the Venice Film Festival. “I spent almost seven months training because when you work with Pablo you can’t do anything by half. He demands, in the most wonderful way, that you really do the work and you really learn and train.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jolie's preparation involved working closely with opera singers and vocal coaches to properly replicate both the singer's form and match Callas' accent, practicing classic operas and arias. The final result is a mix of Callas' actual performances and Jolie's vocals, which she sang on set.

She recalled being "so nervous" when singing for the first time on the film: "My sons were there and they helped lock the door so that nobody else was coming in, and I was shaky."

On playing Callas herself, Jolie admitted that she "related to the part of her that is extremely soft and didn’t have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was and as emotionally open as she truly was. I think I share her vulnerability more than anything," she added.

When approaching the film, Larrain wanted to fill, what he believes, is a gap in the market, saying there are “almost no movies about opera and opera singers.” He said that he wasn't interested in making a "dark movie" but one "about a woman who spent her life singing for others, taking care of others, worrying about relationships. Now she’s ready to take care of herself and find her own destiny."

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. An official release date has not yet been set, but will also screen at the New York Film Festival this fall.

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. Watch a newly released clip from the movie below.

Photo credit: Pablo Larraín