An Orchestra Conductor’s Review of Maria

Just before Christmas my friends Kathleen and Lori and I watched Pablo Larraín’s recently released film Maria, about the great opera singer Maria Callas (1923-1977), played by Angelina Jolie.

Billed as a “biographical psychological drama,” Maria is set in Paris during the last two weeks of Callas’ life. The film depicts the reclusive singer secretly rehearsing for a possible comeback and, while under the influence of Mandrax, both reminiscing and hallucinating about past people and events, including her impoverished and traumatic adolescence in Greece, her illustrious career highlights, and her tempestuous relationship with Aristotle Onassis.

As a long-time admirer of the life and art of Maria Callas I must admit I had some reservations about this film and the American Angelina Jolie playing Maria (pictured at right in the mid-1970s). I have to say, however, that I found the film to be a beautiful work of art and Jolie’s contribution a touching portrayal of a far too often misunderstood, even maligned woman and artist.

That all being said, no biographical film is ever perfect, and one of the most insightful reviews of Maria I’ve come across is by an orchestra conductor (by the moniker of “How I Met The Opera”) who analyzes the film by exploring “some missing context” of Maria’s career as well as “some personal reflections on how classical music is depicted in movies, especially when it comes to the topic of art as suffering.” Angelina Jolie’s singing scenes are also examined and discussed. All in all, it’s a very informative review, one that’s of 15-minute duration.





I conclude this post with an official Netflix mini-documentary on the making of Maria. In particular, this 10-minute video focuses on Angelina Jolie’s thoughts on “the gorgeous and tragic world” of Maria.





Related Off-site Links:
Angelina Jolie Is Graceful and Sharp as Opera Star Maria Callas in Maria – Lindsey Bahr (AP News, November 27, 2024).
A Review of Maria – Tomris Laffly (RogerEbet.com, November 27, 2024).
Maria Review – Angelina Jolie Plays the Diva in Magnificent Stroll Around the Cult of Callas – Xan Brooks (The Guardian, August 29, 2024).
An Opera Singer Reviews Maria – Robin Hahn (YouTube, December 2, 2024).
Becoming Callas – What Made Her So Special? – Phantoms of the Opera (December 6, 2023).
The Operatic Sound of Pablo Larraín’s Maria – The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast (December 10, 2024).

For more of Maria Callas at The Wild Reed, see:
• “Better Than Callas We Will Never See”
• Remembering Maria . . . Celebrating Callas
• Maria by Callas: “Revelatory, Unprecedented, and Authoritative”
• Callas Centenary
• A Queer Aria
• Re-Visioning Callas
• Remembering Callas
• Callas Went Away
• Maria Callas – “Ave Maria”
• Callas Remembered
• The Impossible Desire of Pier Paolo Pasolini
• Europe 2005 – Part 6: Paris