Video: Angelina Jolie Explains How Singing Opera is Like Therapy

Angelina Jolie is shedding light on her performance in Maria. In the biopic, the actress channeled opera star Maria Callas, playing the legendary performer in the later years of her life.

"I thought it was going to be a little more fake singing," Jolie told Good Morning America on a recent visit. "And then I very quickly realized that you can't fake-sing opera."

For the part, Jolie 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, which she said was a terrifying feat. "I have [Maria Callas's voice] in my ear...but the only thing that can be heard on set is me." The final result is a mix of Callas' actual performances and Jolie's vocals.

Jolie likens opera lessons to "therapy," due to the release of all of the trauma held inside the body. "Everything is just locked inside somewhere to help us keep going. To really sing and sing very fully, you have to unlock all of that," she explained. 

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.

The movie 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, featuring a supporting cast that includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Valeria Golino, will be available on Netflix December 11, 2024, following a select theatrical release on November 27, 2024.