What happened in the life, career and last days of Maria Callas in Paris

Angelina Jolie stars as MariaThe eponymous character of Maria Callas, renowned opera singer of the mid-20th century. The 2024 biographical psychological drama film, directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight, follows the last years of Callas' life, which were spent primarily in Paris, France, away from the public eye. Callas has experienced many turbulences throughout his 53 years of life. However, Maria director Larraín wanted to focus on the end of the opera singer's story instead of narrating every detail of his life and career.

Maria is Jolie's first film in three years, as her big-screen role was as Thena in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals. As one might suspect, critics praised and highlighted Jolie's performance in the biographical drama – Screen speechthe review itself Maria described the actress as the “anchor” of the film. Jolie Seemingly Perfectly Captured the torment and anguish Callas felt near the end of his life in the film, despite not explicitly covering the opera singer's entire career.

Maria Callas was born in New York and moved to Greece in 1937

Callas was 13 years old when he moved

According to Biography, Maria Callas was born on December 2, 1923 in New York City, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Georgios Kalogeropoulos and Evangelia “Litsa” Dimitriadis. Callas's name on her birth certificate was Sophie Cecilia Kalos, but she was later christened Maria Cecilia Sophia Anna Kalogeropoulos. As a Greek immigrant living in the United States, Callas' father wanted to shorten the family's surname and make it easier for others to pronounce it. He first switched to Kalos before choosing Callas, which is how the famous opera singer got her name.

Callas became interested in music (singing, playing the piano, etc.) at a very young age, when his passion for singing began. Unfortunately, however, Callas' parents separated when she was a teenager. After the divorce, Callas, then 13, moved with her mother and older sister, Jackie, back to Greece in 1937. It was there that Callas began to develop his voice and study opera at the Athens Conservatory under the direction of opera singer Elvira de Hidalgo. A few years later, Callas officially began her career as a professional opera singer.

Callas began her professional career as an opera singer in 1941

She made her debut in Italy in 1947

Maria Callas' career took off in the 1940s, when she was still a teenager/young adult. She made her professional debut in 1941 when she played Beatrice (a rather small role) in Franz von Suppé Boccaccio at the Royal Opera of Athens. Less than a year later, Callas landed her first major role in a production. World War II quickly interrupted Callas's operatic career. Consequently, she returned to the United States in the mid-1940s.

Despite much effort, Callas struggled to find work in New York. So, she packed all her things and returned to Europe. However, this time, she tried her luck in Verona, Italy. Callas' success really began when she made her Italian debut in a performance of La Gioconda at the Verona Arena in 1947. Afterwards, Callas continued to perform in numerous operas in Italy and around the world, causing her status as a famous and influential opera singer to grow rapidly.

Callas's marriage to Giovanni Battista Meneghini and affair with Aristotle Onassis explained

Callas married Meneghini in 1949

After her move to Italy, Maria Callas was introduced to wealthy industrialist Giovanni Battista Meneghini in 1947. Two years after their meeting, Callas and Meneghini married and he became her manager. However, their marriage would be rocky over the next ten years – Callas even later accused Meneghini of stealing money from her (for Forbes). They finally broke up in 1959, but two years earlier, Callas began having an affair with Aristotle Onassis, a Greek shipping magnate. Callas continued seeing Onassis after leaving Meneghini, but their relationship wasn't supposed to last forever either.

What caused Maria Callas's vocal decline in the 1950s

Some attribute the opera singer's vocal decline to weight loss

One of the most important and talked about moments in Maria Callas' life was when she lost nearly 80 pounds in the months between 1953 and 1954. Whether it was related to weight loss or not, Callas' voice reportedly began to decline in the mid-1950s. Some attributed this to the opera singer's early career and the way she approached singing, while others blamed it on extreme weight loss. Be that as it may, Callas continued to sing publicly for many years, despite the controversy surrounding her voice.

Onassis allegedly left Maria Callas for Jackie Kennedy in 1968

Onassis married Kennedy

Aristotle Onassis married the famous former first lady of the United States Jackie Kennedy (the subject of Pablo Larraín's first biopic about an influential woman) in 1968, almost ten years after Maria Callas separated from her husband. Callas was devastated, of course, when he left her. However, some reports claim that Callas and Onassis continued their affair even after he married to the former first lady. However, neither Callas nor Onassis confirmed this rumor during their lifetimes.

Callas gave his last public performance in 1974

Callas ended his career in Japan

As mentioned above, Maria Callas continued singing, although her voice declined in the mid-1950s. She technically retired from the stage in the 1960s. However, Callas returned in the early 1970s when she decided to go on tour with Giuseppe Di Stefano. Callas' last public performance took place on November 11, 1974, in Sapporo, Japan, during a tour. After that, Callas tried to fade into obscurity.

Callas moved to Paris in 1974 and died in 1977

The opera singer died of a heart attack

Maria Callas moved to Paris, France (where most of the Maria happens), in the same year she gave her last performance. The renowned opera singer spent the mid-1970s hiding from the public as his health continued to decline. Callas reportedly had a fatal heart attack on September 16, 1977, at age 53, in his Paris home. Some dispute the cause of death, but most decide on a heart attack. Decades after her death, Callas remains one of the most influential opera singers of all time, and Angelina Jolie's film Maria go they certainly continue Callas' relevance.

Source: Biography, Forbes