Still, Maria is a marvel to look at, unfolding in a Paris lit by pale September sun. It is 1977, and La Callas is a recluse, long gone from Covent Garden but never quite ruling out a comeback. Pills are popped. The butler frets.

What is real and not real is my business,’ announces Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie), and really, who are we to argue? Maria (12A), a biopic of one of the greatest sopranos in the history of opera, opens in 1977 with ‘the Divine One’ living a semi-solitary life in the company of her devoted butler Ferrucio (Pierfranceso Favino) and housekeeper Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher) as she rattles around her vast Parisian apartment.

Angelina Jolie steps into the shoes of opera legend Maria Callas in the new biopic Maria, directed by Pablo Larraín. The first trailer reveals Jolie’s emotional portrayal, showcasing her transformation into the famous soprano.

Angelina Jolie discussed Hollywood challenges and balancing artistry at the 36th Palm Springs Film Festival on Jan 3. Speaking with Variety’s Clayton Davis, the Oscar-winning actress described Hollywood as “sometimes not a healthy business” and emphasized the importance of living a full life beyond one’s career.

She’s the jewel, and I had to create the jewelry box.” The “jewel” for “Maria” production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas was Angelina Jolie who embodies the famed opera soprano Maria Callas in “Maria,” now streaming on Netflix.

Angelina Jolie is back in UK cinemas this Friday in Maria, the biopic about iconic opera singer Maria Callas. Talking to Digital Spy, Jolie reflected on how she managed to relate to the singer, especially in how she had to balance her personal and private lives.

As Bono once commented about Luciano Pavarotti, “the opera follows him off stage”. Legendary soprano Maria Callas would have known exactly what he meant, and she herself said “an opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down.

At an intimate party in Soho recently, the designer Erdem Moralıoğlu introduced a screening of Maria (the Pablo Larraín-directed biopic centred around the last days of Maria Callas’s tumultuous life starring Angelina Jolie).