At the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, Angelina Jolie will make a comeback to the spotlight as Maria Callas, a.k.a. “La Divina,” a character whose mesmerizing combination of rich voice, glitzy appearance, and sad love story captivated audiences worldwide.
In the biography “Maria,” directed by Chilean Pablo Larrain, the contemporary cinema star will attempt to convey the extraordinary dramatic presence and troubled life of one of opera’s most radiant divas.
The final installment in Larrain’s trilogy of films on famous real-life women, which began with 2016’s “Jackie” about Jacqueline Kennedy and continued with 2021’s “Spencer” about Lady Di, will make its premiere on the Lido Thursday night on the second day of the festival.
The director has said only a larger-than-life star in her own right could play the role of the American-born Greek singer.
“This is the greatest diva of the 20th century, and who could play that?” Larrain told Vanity Fair last week.
“I didn’t want to work with someone that didn’t have that already. I needed an actress who would naturally and organically be that diva, carry that weight, be that presence. Angelina was there.”
Absent from the screen since 2021, the 49-year-old American actress and director has kept a relatively low profile even as her lengthy, acrimonious divorce from Brad Pitt continues to make headlines.
Similar to Callas, whose turbulent life and loves—including her connection with the Greek shipping mogul Aristotle Onassis, who left her for Jacqueline Kennedy—were subject matter for the tabloids, the public’s infatuation with Jolie’s private life bears similarities.
Despite the fact that the paparazzi will be out in full force on Thursday, Jolie—who was seen wearing a Christian Dior trench coat Tuesday while sweltering in the Venice heat—won’t be seeing Pitt while she’s there.
The action comedy “Wolfs,” starring George Clooney and Pitt as competing professional fixers, is showing on the Lido on Sunday without any competition—a move orchestrated by the festival organizers to prevent embarrassing situations.
