Among the images that we will remember from this last experience at the Venice Film Festival, there is undoubtedly the moment of deep emotion that Angelina Jolie felt after the eight-minute ovation for the world premiere of “Maria”. In the film directed by Pablo Larraín, the actress plays the role of the dramatic soprano Maria Callas, with a result that immediately goes to the top of the best performances of her career.
After the premiere held at the Teatro Sala Grande last Saturday, the star who won an Oscar in 2000 for “Girl, Interrupted” burst into tears amid thunderous applause, and the high appreciation of her performance by specialized critics already seems to suggest a long series of nominations for the next season of the most important international awards. The biopic attempts to reconstruct the tumultuous past of the singer and stage diva, recalling in particular the last days spent in Paris in the seventies shortly before her death.
The project closes Larrain's trilogy of biographies on "iconic women", after 2016's "Jackie" with Natalie Portman and 2021's "Spencer" with Kristen Stewart. Recently purchased by Netflix, the film is receiving generally positive reviews from the international press, which, while disagreeing on some of the directorial choices, agrees in rewarding Jolie's excellent performance, which required seven months of work focused on physical preparation and vocal training.
During the press conference held in Venice, speaking about the experience she had during the filming, Jolie specified that through the character she tried first of all to find a new meaning to the word “diva”: «The word has a lot of negative connotations... But I think she was one of the people who worked the hardest and never hurt anyone». On his profile, the director admitted that he had always been a big fan of the singer, and wanted to work to bring out the most generous and altruistic side of Callas: «Maria had the greatest voice ever and she had a really wonderful and difficult life. She was a woman who spent her life singing for others, taking care of others, worrying about her relationships».
Reflecting on what Jolie and Callas have in common, the star responded: “I think the way I approached her was probably through her side that was extremely soft… And she didn’t have the space in that world to be that, to be emotionally open like she really was… I share with her more than anything her vulnerability.”
What really put the actress to the test was the vocal training required for the role, which in addition to the technical aspects inevitably involved a direct confrontation with the character and the fear of not being able to handle the weight, in addition to the expectations of the fans. As the director told in an interview with Vanity Fair, we discover that Jolie: «She worked on her posture. She studied breathing. She developed an accent that is appropriate for a woman who belongs to a world of that caliber. Then she took singing lessons».
On her past with the world of music, the actress also revealed some interesting curiosities: « Now I will disappoint the fans, but I am not an expert in opera and I was not a fan of Maria Callas. I am more punk, I am a fan of the Clash, even if I love all music. I admit, however, that as I get older I have mellowed. But I am convinced that such a level of desperation corresponds to only one sound, and that is opera. Only opera is capable of transmitting that type of feeling». And on the first approaches to singing during the work phases, she added: «I was scared, Pablo is fantastic, but he is also very demanding. The first time I sang I was so nervous that I locked myself in a room. I didn't want anyone to hear me, I was shaking».