When the great opera diva Maria Callas died in Paris on September 16, 1977, at age 53, she left behind a legacy shrouded in myth and speculation. Celebrated for her commanding presence on the great opera stages of the world, she was equally reviled for her tempestuous personal life. Angelina Jolie offers an Oscar worthy tribute to “La Callas” in the new bio-pic Maria, now streaming on Netflix.
Directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, the film chronicles the final years of Callas’ life when she was living in Paris. Written by British Film and television director, producer and screenwriter Steven Knight (TVs Who Wants to be a Millionaire, seen in 160 countries, and the films Locke and Hummingbird a.k.a. Redemption, which he wrote and directed, Maria is enriched by the atmospheric camera work of Oscar (Far from Heaven, Carol, El Conde) and Primetime Emmy (Mildred Pierce) nominated Cinematographer Ed Lachman.
Filmed in Paris, Budapest, Callas’ homeland of Greece and Milan, where the opera scenes were filmed at the legendary La Scala opera house, the film’s designers worked diligently to fuse the period atmospherics of the ’50s and ’60s with the surreal musical sequences that dominate this psychological drama.
Supporting cast members are as much a part of the visual and textual landscape as the principals.
The production is rendered in meticulous detail. Jolie’s wardrobes are based on Callas’ original costume designs (the diva destroyed all her opera gowns upon her retirement) and the archive collection of costume designer Massimo Cantini Parrini.
The actress reportedly went through seven months of vocal training in order to perform participatory lip-synching in which the actress’s own singing voice was blended with La Callas’ original recordings, which provided 90-95% of what audiences hear vocally in the film.
Some professional opera singers I spoke with who screened the film in previews felt the effect of Jolie’s lip-synching was somewhat lacking in the exacting skill and breathing technique required to sing opera.
According to Cinematographer Ed Lachman, some of that may have been by design on the part of the director. “What many people don’t realize is that Maria Callas suffered from a rare muscular disease (dermatomyositis) that paralyzed her vocal cords and made it hard for her to breath for days at a time.
“That may have accounted for many of her cancellations that some may have wrongly attributed to ‘dive-like’ behavior.
“She wasn’t formally diagnosed with the condition until very late in her career, ” he said. “But she wouldn’t have told anyone anyway, because no one would have hired her!”
Callas’ affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and the ensuing love triangle involving Jackie Kennedy soon dominated the tabloids, completely overshadowing the dimming reviews of her stagecraft.
By that time, the famous Bel Canto singer was already spiraling into the steep decline of drug addiction.
Early in her career, her husband connected her with a doctor who gave her “liquid vitamins,”- a code word for “speed.” As her agent, he drove her on an impossible treadmill of performing that drained her physically as he, in turn, drained her bank account.
It was Onassis who introduced her to pentobarbital and methaqualone/antihistamine a decade later—and she became addicted to both.
Doctors were of no hope later in her life either. “Mandrax and me are a perfect combination,” she tells her obsequious butler Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino), referring to the combination drug of methaqualone and diphenhydramine commonly known as quaalude. Mandrax is no longer available legally.
An early scene in Maria captures La Callas as she meanders the scenic monuments of Paris, her head abuzz in a stew of drugs and alcohol. Her constant companion Mandrax conjures illusions of an operatic chorus advancing across a plaza backdropped by the Eiffel Tower singing ‘Le fosche nottume spoglie,’ the famous Anvil Song from Verdi’s Il Trovatore.
In another scene, Callas/Jolie badgers her obedient maid Burda (Alba Rohrwacher), into listening to her cracking voice in a kitchen demonstration. Burda dutifully deems the diva’s fractured voice “magnificent,” and off La Callas goes to a rehearsal session with her piano accompanist, Jeffrey Tate (Stephen Ashfield) that leaves her crestfallen.
And so, it goes for two hours and forty minutes. Maria is a beautifully filmed account of a tragic but compelling life. The music and the settings are exquisite. If you aren’t in tears by the final aria, then you should turn in your membership card to the Human Race.
Maria starring Angelina Jolie is now streaming on Netflix.
