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Netflix Acquires Maria Callas Biopic Ahead of World Premiere
"Maria" is set in September 1977 during the final week of the opera singer's life.
By: Josh Sharpe Aug. 28, 2024
Netflix has purchased the U.S. rights to Maria, the biopic of opera legend Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, Deadline reports. The news comes ahead of the movie's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29.
The film 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.
“I’m excited to partner again with the Netflix team who care so passionately about movies," Larraín said in a statement. "This film is my most personal work yet. It is a creative imagining and psychological portrait of Maria Callas who, after dedicating her life to performing for audiences around the world, decides finally to find her own voice, her own identity, and sing for herself. I’m deeply honored to tell this story and share it with audiences worldwide like Maria did with her life.”
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
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