Angelina Jolie: Maria Callas role “hardest” of my career

American actress Angelina Jolie said Thursday that she had to learn opera singing to prepare for her portrayal of Maria Callas, one of the greatest sopranos of all time, and that the role required the most effort and perseverance of her artistic career. .

The film “Maria” directed by Pablo Laren reviews the last days of Callas’ life in Paris, when he became addicted to anti-anxiety drugs, and the happy and sad moments of his tumultuous past when he captivated audiences around the world with him. breathless voice.

“It’s the most difficult and challenging role,” Jolie added ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Jolie explained, “It felt like I was on another planet, because the film pushed me beyond my comfort zone as a person and as an artist.”

The actress explained that she told the director that she could sing, but she realized that she had to reach a different level, as it took seven months to train for the role.

“I thought that people who sing in films I can sing too; they sing or pretend to sing a little bit, and it became clear very quickly that I had to learn how to sing, because you can’t fake opera singing,” Jolie said.

Laren said that when you hear Callas at her peak in the film, 95% of the voice is taken from the original recording of the soprano, but when we hear her at the end of her life, the voice heard is mostly Jolie’s voice.

“Maria” is one of 21 films competing for the prestigious “Golden Lion” award at the Venice Film Festival, which runs through Sept. 7.