Photos: Angelina Jolie, Alan Cumming, & More Attend MARIA New York Film Screening

On September 29, the cast and crew of Netflix's Maria attended a Tastemaker screening at New York's Whitby Hotel. In attendance was Angelia Jolie, who plays the legendary opera singer in the film, as well as director Pablo Larraín, guests Alan Cumming, Carla Gugino, Questlove, and more. The movie will be available on Netflix December 11, 2024, following a select theatrical release on November 27, 2024

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. 

Maria, which is said to include operatic interludes, features a supporting cast that includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Valeria Golino. 

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.