Angelina Jolie is taking on an operatic new role: playing Greek opera singer Maria Callas.
Jolie leads Pablo Larraín’s biopic “Maria,” set during the last days of the chanteuse’s life. She died in 1977.
“Maria” marks Larraín’s third biopic on the heels of “Jackie” and “Spencer,” which earned actress Kristen Stewart her first Oscar nomination.
Per the official synopsis, the film explores the life of the legendary, iconic and controversial singer, often described as the original diva. Based on true accounts, “Maria” tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.
“The Power of the Dog” star Kodi Smit-McPhee, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, and Valeria Golino co-star alongside Jolie. The film is an independent production with an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA; production starts this week, with locations ranging...
Jolie leads Pablo Larraín’s biopic “Maria,” set during the last days of the chanteuse’s life. She died in 1977.
“Maria” marks Larraín’s third biopic on the heels of “Jackie” and “Spencer,” which earned actress Kristen Stewart her first Oscar nomination.
Per the official synopsis, the film explores the life of the legendary, iconic and controversial singer, often described as the original diva. Based on true accounts, “Maria” tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.
“The Power of the Dog” star Kodi Smit-McPhee, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, and Valeria Golino co-star alongside Jolie. The film is an independent production with an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA; production starts this week, with locations ranging...
- 10/9/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Cameras are set to roll in mid-October in Budapest on Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria” toplining Angelina Jolie in the title role with several new cast members now on board.
Italian star Valeria Golino, whose recent appearances include a lead in Netflix’s Elena Ferrante series “The Lying Life of Adults” and season 2 of Apple Original “The Morning Show,” is set to play the legendary opera singer’s older sister Yakinthi – known as Jackie – while revered Turkish screen and stage veteran Haluk Bilginer (“Winter Sleep”) has landed the role as Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
Fremantle, which is among companies producing “Maria,” also confirmed on Thursday that the film’s additional cast comprises Italian A-listers Alba Rohrwacher and Pierfrancesco Favino and Oscar-nominated Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”), all in unspecified roles.
“Maria” “tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer,...
Italian star Valeria Golino, whose recent appearances include a lead in Netflix’s Elena Ferrante series “The Lying Life of Adults” and season 2 of Apple Original “The Morning Show,” is set to play the legendary opera singer’s older sister Yakinthi – known as Jackie – while revered Turkish screen and stage veteran Haluk Bilginer (“Winter Sleep”) has landed the role as Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
Fremantle, which is among companies producing “Maria,” also confirmed on Thursday that the film’s additional cast comprises Italian A-listers Alba Rohrwacher and Pierfrancesco Favino and Oscar-nominated Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”), all in unspecified roles.
“Maria” “tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer,...
- 10/5/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Angelina Jolie has landed a new role in acclaimed director Pablo Larraín’s next film- a biopic centered on famous opera singer Maria Callas.
The movie, titled “Maria” tells “the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris,” as per its longline.
Callas was one of the most famous opera singers of the 20th century. The American-born Greek soprano singer was born in Manhattan but received her opera training in Greece at age 13 before moving to Italy for her career. Over the years, she faced near-sightedness that nearly left her blind, as well as multiple scandals in both her personal and professional life. She had a major rivalry with Italian opera singer Renata Tebaldi and an affair with Aristotle Onassis, whom later married Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, coincidentally the subject of Larraín’s film...
The movie, titled “Maria” tells “the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris,” as per its longline.
Callas was one of the most famous opera singers of the 20th century. The American-born Greek soprano singer was born in Manhattan but received her opera training in Greece at age 13 before moving to Italy for her career. Over the years, she faced near-sightedness that nearly left her blind, as well as multiple scandals in both her personal and professional life. She had a major rivalry with Italian opera singer Renata Tebaldi and an affair with Aristotle Onassis, whom later married Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, coincidentally the subject of Larraín’s film...
- 10/21/2022
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Angelina Jolie will star in Oscar-nominated director Pablo Larraín’s next movie, a biopic about famous opera singer Maria Callas.
Titled “Maria,” the film “tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris,” according to its logline. Steven Knight (“Spencer,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Eastern Promises”) wrote the script.
Callas was an American-born Greek soprano singer and one of the most famous opera singers of the 20th century. She was born in Manhattan and received her opera training in Greece when she was 13 and later moved to Italy for her career. Throughout the years, she dealt with near-sightedness that left her nearly blind and multiple scandals in her personal and professional life. She had an intense rivalry with Italian opera singer Renata Tebaldi, plus an affair with Aristotle Onassis.
“Having the chance to combine...
Titled “Maria,” the film “tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris,” according to its logline. Steven Knight (“Spencer,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Eastern Promises”) wrote the script.
Callas was an American-born Greek soprano singer and one of the most famous opera singers of the 20th century. She was born in Manhattan and received her opera training in Greece when she was 13 and later moved to Italy for her career. Throughout the years, she dealt with near-sightedness that left her nearly blind and multiple scandals in her personal and professional life. She had an intense rivalry with Italian opera singer Renata Tebaldi, plus an affair with Aristotle Onassis.
“Having the chance to combine...
- 10/21/2022
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Gianni Amelio was in his late sixties when he came out as gay a few years ago. The announcement preceded the release of his documentary “Happy to Be Different,” which worked toward an overriding sunniness in contemplating the trials and challenges of being gay in Italy at various points in the 20th century. In turning to a gay-themed narrative project, Amelio narrows the focus and dims the mood: “Lord of the Ants” takes as its subject the gay Italian author Aldo Braibanti, and the social and legal opposition he faced over his sexuality in mid-1960s Rome. Solemn, stately and perhaps a little stifled, it’s the kind of queer statement you might expect from a veteran filmmaker who wasn’t until relatively recently out and proud, and is rather poignant for that.
In a key scene, the middle-aged Braibanti (played with urbane grace by Luigi Lo Cascio) takes his...
In a key scene, the middle-aged Braibanti (played with urbane grace by Luigi Lo Cascio) takes his...
- 9/6/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
If you want the truth about Greek-American opera star Maria Callas, why not get it straight from the diva’s mouth. That’s the refreshing premise of Maria by Callas, a dazzling documentary from Tom Volf that draws from letters, unpublished memoirs, home movies, family photos, performances (far from audio perfection), journals (read by contemporary opera singer Joyce Didonato) and TV interviews (there’s a doozy with David Frost) that allow Callas to speak — and sing — for herself. No narrator, no talking heads feeding you insights, just the lady letting...
- 11/1/2018
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Observed from afar, the opera world looks like a strange, turbulent planet populated by tantrum-throwing, bouquet-catching, window-shattering creatures called divas. Zoom in closer, though, and it’s clear that those mythic singers are thin on the ground. Once, they were essential to opera’s mystique and economic health. Operagoers revered them, and even non-operagoers knew their names, thanks to a media machine obsessed not only with glamour but also with prestige. Time magazine put Marian Anderson, Nellie Melba, Helen Traubel, Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Beverly Sills, and Luciano Pavarotti on its cover (back when Time’s cover also had immense glamour and prestige). Compared to their forebears, today’s divas are dwarf stars, still capable of musical miracles but not of quickening a paparazzo’s pulse or even of reliably selling out a house. The entertainment world has diversified and fragmented, shoving an art form full of potboilers and tearjerkers...
- 9/29/2014
- by Justin Davidson
- Vulture
Her fans can’t wait to see her on network television, and Miley Cyrus will be bringing her Bangerz Tour to NBC on Sunday (July 6).
According to a new promo, “This Sunday, end the holiday weekend with the music event of the summer. Miley Cyrus, in an all-new concert event.”
Creative director Diane Martel told press, "We see Miley as she is in her private life; very sweet, tender, loving and playful. Miley speaks about her personal growth to date during this tour. We get a sense of the smart and thoughtful artist she is. ... It's very low-key and intimate.”
"She’s sophisticated in many ways and a young, silly girl in others… When you watch these brief, but effective scenes you see how relatable she really is. She really balances being an artist with being a 21-year-old quite well."
Furthermore, “Miley is a very serious musician. If this is something someone doesn’t know,...
According to a new promo, “This Sunday, end the holiday weekend with the music event of the summer. Miley Cyrus, in an all-new concert event.”
Creative director Diane Martel told press, "We see Miley as she is in her private life; very sweet, tender, loving and playful. Miley speaks about her personal growth to date during this tour. We get a sense of the smart and thoughtful artist she is. ... It's very low-key and intimate.”
"She’s sophisticated in many ways and a young, silly girl in others… When you watch these brief, but effective scenes you see how relatable she really is. She really balances being an artist with being a 21-year-old quite well."
Furthermore, “Miley is a very serious musician. If this is something someone doesn’t know,...
- 7/3/2014
- GossipCenter
Rome -- Bruno Bartoletti, an orchestra conductor who was associated with the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a half-century, and who championed modern opera as well as classic works, died on Sunday in his native Tuscany, a day before his 87th birthday.
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where the maestro had served as artistic director from 1985 until 1991, said Bartoletti died in a Florence hospital after a long illness.
In a career that saw Bartoletti conduct well into his 80s – he directed Giacomo Puccini's `'Manon Lescaut"at Florence's Teatro Comunale in February 2011 – he served as the first music director of Chicago's Lyric Opera, starting as guest conductor there in 1956, when he was relatively unknown.
Bartoletti was 30 when the then 2-year-old Lyric Opera needed a replacement conductor for Giuseppe Verdi's `'Il Trovatore" in 1956. Baritone Tito Gobbi endorsed him, and Bartoletti made his American debut with the company. He conducted...
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where the maestro had served as artistic director from 1985 until 1991, said Bartoletti died in a Florence hospital after a long illness.
In a career that saw Bartoletti conduct well into his 80s – he directed Giacomo Puccini's `'Manon Lescaut"at Florence's Teatro Comunale in February 2011 – he served as the first music director of Chicago's Lyric Opera, starting as guest conductor there in 1956, when he was relatively unknown.
Bartoletti was 30 when the then 2-year-old Lyric Opera needed a replacement conductor for Giuseppe Verdi's `'Il Trovatore" in 1956. Baritone Tito Gobbi endorsed him, and Bartoletti made his American debut with the company. He conducted...
- 6/9/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Kim Novak, Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek Divas In Brazil: Q&A with Author Evânio Alves Pt.1 Vivien Leigh performing in The Lady of the Camellias in Rio de Janeiro. How did that go? It was the greatest privilege for Brazil to have Scarlett O'Hara on the Brazilian stage. The most interesting thing is that I was lucky enough to get a program for the play, autographed by her at Rio's Teatro Municipal in 1962. All Brazilians wanted to see her, the competition was fierce for tickets. Is it true that Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi became rivals after their stay in Rio? At first, I had my doubts when I read about this topic. Since I think that every writer should have a connection with the reader so as to avoid bringing up doubts, I read lots of articles, even in other languages. In fact, the rivalry did begin in Brazil...
- 3/30/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
As Divas no Brasil / Divas in Brazil In As Divas no Brasil / Divas in Brazil, Brazilian author Evânio Alves narrates numerous little-known stories — some tragic, some humorous, some downright bizarre — about international film, music, stage, and even opera and ballet (female) stars during their visit to the South American nation. According to Alves, the reasons for the divas' visits to Brazil have been varied. For instance, Madonna's reasons for dropping by have been professional (record-breaking shows a few years ago), personal (she was dating Brazilian model Jesus Luz), and socially conscious (as a representative of the Ngo "Success for Kids"). Eleonora Duse and Vivien Leigh performed The Lady of the Camellias on the Rio de Janeiro stage; the former in the mid-1880s, the latter in the early 1960s. Margot Fonteyn danced at Rio's Teatro Municipal, while Marlene Dietrich performed a cabaret act that, as attested by images found in Divas in Brazil,...
- 3/30/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Penélope Cruz and Anne Hathaway may be rivals in two biopics
Two British screenplays are competing for the chance to be the first to tell the compelling life story of the opera star Maria Callas on film.
This summer, as guests attending the Cannes film festival gathered for cocktails on the terrace of the exclusive Martinez hotel to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pier Paolo Pasolini's acclaimed film Medea, with Callas in the non-singing title role, the soprano's close associations with glamour and the cinema were never more evident.
On display at the hotel was a selection of jewellery from Callas's private collection, including her white diamond "La Traviata" necklace, showcased alongside unseen photographs of the singer with stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly. But what the guests at the Martinez did not know was that, just along the Croisette, producers were busy with...
Two British screenplays are competing for the chance to be the first to tell the compelling life story of the opera star Maria Callas on film.
This summer, as guests attending the Cannes film festival gathered for cocktails on the terrace of the exclusive Martinez hotel to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pier Paolo Pasolini's acclaimed film Medea, with Callas in the non-singing title role, the soprano's close associations with glamour and the cinema were never more evident.
On display at the hotel was a selection of jewellery from Callas's private collection, including her white diamond "La Traviata" necklace, showcased alongside unseen photographs of the singer with stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly. But what the guests at the Martinez did not know was that, just along the Croisette, producers were busy with...
- 12/13/2009
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
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