32/13
I’m in the mood to enjoy myself
Maria Callas, the world’s greatest opera singer, spends her final days in 1970s Paris as she confronts her identity and her life. Angelina Jolie and director Pablo Larraín discuss how they were reunited with the heartbreaking real-life world-famous opera singer Maria Callas. Angelina Jolie, who refused to be dubbed and wanted to perform her own song, took 7 months of lessons at the opera to prepare for her role. For scenes set during Callas’ heyday, approximately 90-95 percent of Callas’ original recordings were used, with Jolie lip-syncing the songs. But Jolie’s singing comes to the fore in the film’s final act. Maria Callas: Book me a table in a café where the waiters know who I am.
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Shown in close-up: Why do we need a Venice Film Festival? (2024). Otello Act 4: “Ave Maria” (Desdemona) Performed by Maria Callas, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire Conductor: Nicola Rescigno Written by Giuseppe Verdi, Arrigo BoitoA Warner Classics Release, (p) 1964 Parlophone Records Limited 0Remas4 Warner Music Group Germany Holding GmbH, a Warner Music Group company. I didn’t expect to like “Maria,” but I did. I enjoyed most of the film (especially the scenes involving J. F.
Just a little
I enjoyed hearing the real Maria Callas sing well-known arias (although, to be honest, I’m not much of an opera fan). I thought Angelina Jolie was great as the wounded, damaged diva who, despite her bitterness towards the people who love and serve her, somehow miraculously gained my empathy. I found the limited ‘lip-syncing’ from Callas’ singing to be a great choice. We know Jolie can’t sing, and the film didn’t try to trick us into thinking she could. And finally, the device of never really knowing what’s ‘real’ as opposed to Maria’s hallucination allowed the film to delve into the diva’s past without long stretches of explanatory dialogue. The film drags a little.
Did I love “Maria”?
But overall, the scenes are well-timed, so if one feels too slow, we’re quickly rewarded with one that interests us. No. Is it for “everyone”? Again, no. But it reveals an icon I knew very little about. An icon more vulnerable than I thought.
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And one that earned and held my empathy.. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is one of the biggest TV and streaming premieres this month.