Latest news with #Callas
Indian Express
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Who was Maria Callas, ‘the Bible of opera', brought to life by Angelina Jolie in a new film?
Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín's much-anticipated film Maria, starring Angelina Jolie, released in India last week. The movie portrays the last week of the life of famed opera singer and fashion icon Maria Callas, who once ruled concert halls with her distinctive, emotionally charged soprano voice, but lost its fluidity and ability to hit the high notes in her mid 30s. The noted orchestra conductor Leonard Bernstein once called Callas 'the Bible of opera'. Never one to offer superlatives lightly, Bernstein had good reason to praise Callas. Most opera directors and conductors were fascinated by her, even though her voice had them divided due to its tenor. 'Her voice was not of the most beautiful quality, and still she made this instrument the most expressive, the most telling and the most true to the music that she interpreted,' said Italian-American conductor Nicola Rescigno about Callas in the 1987 documentary Maria Callas: La Divina — A Portrait. Callas attracted attention for another reason — back when the belief among the vocal pedagogy was that a larger body could contribute to a richer, more resonant sound, Callas decided to lose around 30 kg in the middle of her very successful career. Early years and learning music Callas was born Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos on the Upper East Side in New York in 1923 to Greek immigrant parents. Her father had a small pharmacy in Manhattan, and, to fit in, he changed their surname to Callas. Since Maria was born after the death of an infant son, her mother, who wanted a boy, rejected her for four days. But her mother was also fond of opera and would play borrowed records, which Maria and her older sister Jackie heard at home. Soon, Maria began to imitate the arias to operas like Tosca and Carmen. So much so that a Swedish neighbour volunteered to teach her for free. Her father's business struggled during the Great Depression and the family found it hard to make ends meet. His infidelity added to the troubles and Callas's mother decided to return to Athens with her two daughters. She had already figured out that her younger daughter could sing and it could help with earning money. The return to Greece plunged Callas into poverty, which some years later, worsened amid the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. But her mother, who was determined to turn her daughter into a star, sent her to the National Conservatory at 14, lying about her age as the academy only accepted students when they were 16. Callas then honed her skills at the Athens Conservatory, walking long distances to learn as there was no transportation. Callas's relationship with her mother was always complex, something that the Jolie film also touches upon. She begrudged her all her life. It began with her mother always calling her 'fat and ugly' (Callas was overweight as a teenager with thick glasses and acne). During the war, as people died of starvation around her (30,000 Greeks died due to starvation) Callas's mother pushed Jackie to become a mistress to a rich man, who helped support the family in dire times. She also tried to get Maria to sleep with Nazi soldiers, as revealed through Maria's letters later. Once, Italian fascist soldiers came to her apartment where her mother had hidden two British soldiers for money. The punishment for this was execution. Callas sang Puccini's famed opera Tosca for the soldiers, thus distracting them from a search. The soldiers came back with food for the family and praise for Callas. Her mother kept pushing her to sing, often hungry. Many felt that it was the strength she acquired during this period that distinguished Callas from her peers later. 'Only when I was singing did I feel loved,' she said in an interview once. Musical debut and success Callas's debut was Greek National Opera's first staging of Tosca, where she performed during a blackout for the soldiers, not for wages but for food. She kept singing till 1945 when the war ended, and then moved to the US. After struggles and rejection here, she was noticed by Geovanni Zenatello, artistic director and opera singer from Verona. Maria Callas then moved countries again — this time to Italy, to find fame and success. Here, she met and married the 52-year-old brick manufacturer Giovanni Meneghini, who she felt protected her. Meneghini eventually became her manager. Their relationship soured later as Callas alleged he was taking all her money. In 1949, when another soprano fell sick, Callas substituted her as Elvira in composer Bellini's I Puritani (The Puritans), and mastered the part in just a week. Her portrayal of Norma, Violetta and Madea still remains extremely popular. At the famous John F Kennedy pre-birthday party where Marilyn Monroe sang 'Happy birthday', Callas had sung two arias from the famed French opera Carmen, to much admiration. Changing the way opera was sung Bernstein called Callas a 'singing actress' due to her unique theatrical ability to present a score. At a time when technical superiority in singing was imperative, Callas wanted to bring feeling and emotion into opera. She could imbue notes with anxiety and joy and it is the theatrical ability of her voice that is still remembered. She also brought classic operas by Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, that had fallen out of standard repertory for being 'too technical' and 'too pretty', back to life. The 1950s was Callas's golden period and gave her the title La Divina (The Divine). Her original recordings, especially of Tosca, still top classical musical sales, almost 50 years after her death. The loss of her voice Callas said she wanted to lose weight to convincingly portray the ethereal heroines she became on stage. Prodded by Luchino Visconti, one of Italy's most significant directors of opera and cinema, she lost nearly 30 kg to play Violetta, a glamorous Parisian courtesan, in Verdi's romantic tragedy La Traviata (The Fallen Woman). Later, as she started losing the strength of her voice, many believed that her dramatic weight loss had a role to play in this, as her lungs lost power and stamina to sustain the high notes. The stress of her tempestuous personal life, including an abusive and passionate affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who left her to marry Jackie Kennedy, was cited as another reason. Many music writers believed that Callas had sung in various registers all her life and probably strained her voice too much. Callas did try to revive her career by giving masterclasses at New York's The Juilliard School and a few recitals with Giuseppe di Stefano. But her voice wasn't able to carry her. After her final recital in 1974, she withdrew herself from public life and died in her apartment of a heart failure in 1977.
News18
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Maria Review: Angelina Jolie Shines In A Poignant Portrait Of Opera Legend Maria Callas
Last Updated: Maria Movie Review: Angelina Jolie portrays Maria Callas with a regal stillness, a performance that leans heavily on poise, posture and moments of quiet despair. Maria Movie Review: In Maria, director Pablo Larraín turns his lens once again to an iconic woman cloaked in public myth, following his acclaimed biopics Jackie and Spencer. This time, it's the legendary opera singer Maria Callas who receives the filmmaker's melancholic treatment, and Angelina Jolie steps into her shoes for a quiet, restrained yet emotionally rich performance that marks her much-anticipated return to acting. Rather than offering a sweeping biography, Maria is an intimate, atmospheric portrayal of the diva's final days in Paris in 1977. Stripped of stage lights and applause, the film finds Callas in solitude, reflecting on a life filled with glory, heartbreak and a voice that once moved the world, now fading. There are no extended sequences of operatic grandeur or dramatic reenactments of her famed romance with Aristotle Onassis. Instead, we are presented with a woman tethered to memory and pain, isolated in a grand but ghostly apartment that echoes her past more loudly than any aria. Jolie portrays Callas with a regal stillness, a performance that leans heavily on poise, posture and moments of quiet despair rather than theatrical flourish. Her Callas is imperious and proud, yet clearly struggling to accept the silence that has replaced her once-dominant voice. There's a touch of sharp humour in the way she spars with her loyal house staff, especially her butler Ferruccio (Pierfrancesco Favino) and housekeeper Bruna (Alba Rohrwacher), though the interactions are often tinged with sadness. The daily routine of moving a piano from room to room becomes one of the film's only light touches, reflecting the emptiness that has replaced Callas's once vibrant world. The film drifts between present-day scenes of Maria's reclusive life and stylised, often dreamlike flashbacks, some rooted in childhood trauma during wartime Greece, others recalling glamorous but hollow moments of fame. Larraín's direction is confident but never showy, creating a slow-burning portrait that's less interested in narrative and more focused on mood. The production design, especially the apartment with its ornate furnishings and relics of stardom, does a lot of heavy lifting in conveying the weight of Callas' past. Steven Knight's screenplay resists conventional biopic structure, instead layering Callas' emotional states with fragments of her memories. It's a bold choice one that may alienate viewers expecting a more traditional account of her operatic triumphs or famous feuds. Notably, the film avoids delving into her professional rivalries or collaborators, narrowing its gaze to her personal reckoning. That choice might frustrate opera purists but it feels in line with Larraín's aim to reveal the woman behind the legend rather than catalogue her accomplishments. Angelina Jolie is the undeniable anchor here. She delivers a controlled and affecting performance that feels deeply internal, capturing the complex duality of Callas, the diva and the human, the adored performer and the lonely soul. There's a sadness in her eyes even when she raises her chin, and moments of vulnerability break through the steely facade. Jolie doesn't attempt to mimic Callas but instead channels her spirit, making the role her own while honouring the opera icon's tragic aura. For an actress known for playing powerful, assertive women, this is a beautifully subdued return. The film's pacing is deliberately slow and its tone often mournful. Some viewers may find its structure meandering, and the emotional payoff more subdued than expected. Still, there's a haunting grace to the way Maria unfolds. It's less a biography and more a meditation on aging, fame and the erasure of identity once the spotlight fades. In the end, Maria is not trying to tell us everything about Maria Callas. It is instead asking us to sit with her, feel her silence, observe her struggle, witness her reckoning. It's a film of quiet power, anchored by a performance from Angelina Jolie that reminds us why she remains one of the most compelling actors of her generation. While it may not satisfy those looking for a definitive account of Callas' life, Maria is a poignant character study that finds its voice in loss, memory and dignity. Maria is currently streaming on Lionsgate Play India. First Published:
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Clinic-in-a-Box' could help bridge the rural-urban healthcare divide
AUSTIN (KXAN) – A company is rolling out a new product to expand access to patients in rural areas. OnMed showcased its Clinic-in-a-Box on Wednesday to local media and Texas legislators. The company touts that the 8-by-11-foot 'box' combines the accessibility of telehealth medicine with the infrastructure of in-person care. 'Eighty percent of counties don't have adequate care. In Texas, 35 counties lack access completely, and 150 have very little access,' said Howard Gruverman, the president of OnMed. 'This is a lower cost, lower footprint, ability to address the access.' OnMed's Clinic-in-a-Box looks like a typical primary care physician's exam room. There is a scale, a blood pressure monitor and a hand sanitizer dispenser. But the glaring difference is the large, touch-screen monitor in the pod. Patients from counties where physicians are lacking can enter the device and be connected with a qualified doctor in a larger city in moments, according to OnMed. 'We're working with a lot of local and state governments, including the federal government, to look at where the care deserts are,' Gruverman said. OnMed already has 30 clinics in use across the United States, and Gruverman said he expects that number to jump to 200 by the end of 2025. In Texas, there are active ones in Milam County and in Corsicana. Gruverman said his team is working on activating four additional Texas ones soon. 'We become part of the fabric of the community – to connect people to the proper care, whether it's primary care, urgent care, specialty referrals, food insecurity, food banks, mental health services [and] behavioral services,' he continued. President of the Texas Medical Association, Dr. Ray Callas, said he thinks a product such as Clinic-in-a-Box could be an excellent tool to connect rural patients to doctors, but he said it is essential that the medical team maintains quality care. '[The team] must be an educated, highly trained physician collaboration,' Callas said. 'We have been trying to promote that all Texans have the same access – no matter if you live in a large metropolitan area, or you live in a small farm community, or if you live on the border and there's only 1,000 people in that community,' Callas said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
