Angelina Jolie

MARIA

By Diana Addison Lyle

Maria Callas (1923 – 1977) was known as the ‘Voice of the Century’, and one of the most influential and iconic opera singers of the 20th century. Critics praised her bel canto technique, her wide vocal range, and her dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire was vast and included a wide range of operas, from classical opera to the works of Verdi and Puccini. She was especially known for her performances in Medea, Tosca, and La Traviata. She had a natural authority on stage and was nicknamed ‘La Divina’.

The operatic diva endured struggles and scandal over the course of her career, including a marriage to a wealthy Italian businessman who was 28 years her senior. She also had a long-standing love affair with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. While the two never married, they were together for nearly a decade. They met in Venice at a 1957 summer party where Onassis commented that the curiosity between them was instant. Onassis was later quoted in his 1987 biography (by Peter Evans) saying, “We were the most famous Greeks alive in the world.” Maria Callas died of a heart attack at her Paris home at the age of 53.

Oscar-winning actress, Angelina Jolie, took on the role of a lifetime as Maria Callas in Netflix’ Maria. To prepare for the role, she was trained as an opera singer for seven months, and her performance (which is a mix between Maria’s real voice and her own) was so compellingly powerful that she received a standing ovation at the recent Venice Film Festival. In an interview with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America, Angelina said,

“I soon learned that you can’t fake-sing opera.” In the acclaimed movie, Angelina conveys the complexity of Maria Callas’ life. Her every move was under scrutiny, and Michael Strahan asked her if that public microscope reflected Angelina’s own life. She responded,

“There are obvious similarities in both our lives, but I think what was more pertinent was how hard she (Maria) threw herself into her work, and she was sometimes seen as strong but also very vulnerable and human. I certainly am. Yes, there are similarities, and I think we would have been friends. She was a very hard-working person who didn’t receive a lot of love and support from her family and she found love through her connection with the audience. She was a deeply complex individual.”

This is Angelina’s triumphant return to the big screen after a 3-year hiatus, and she describes her opera lessons as therapy.

“We all don’t realize that the things that happen to us in our life, we hold them in our body. Everything is locked inside of us – to help us keep going. In order to really sing, and sing very fully, you have to unlock all of that. My first lesson, I took a deep breath and just cried. My first day singing in front of the crew, I was shaking.”

When Strahan asked Angelina if anything in her own life compared to Maria’s love of singing, she replied unhesitatingly, “my kids.”