First look at ‘Maria’ biopic as Angelina Jolie becomes legendary opera star Maria Callas

First look at ‘Maria’ biopic as Angelina Jolie as legendary opera star Maria Callas. Picture: Pablo Larraín

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

The Hollywood actor is transformed into ‘La Divina’, for the upcoming biopic about 20th-century opera diva Maria Callas. 

The first glimpses of Maria, a new film set during Maria Callas’ final days in 1970s Paris, were revealed on Monday.

Angelina Jolie will play the American-born, Greek soprano in a biopic about the “tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris”, according to a press release.

Director Pablo Larraín praised Jolie’s “extraordinary preparation” for the role.

Two photos of the actor as ‘La Divina’ have been published. In one, Jolie is opera’s most famous diva, wearing a wide-brimmed lace hat – in the other, she is holding a pair of large, round spectacles to her face.

Larraín said in a statement, “I am incredibly excited to start production on Maria, which I hope will bring Maria Callas’ remarkable life and work to audiences all around the world, thanks to the magnificent script by Steven Knight, the work of the entire cast and crew, and especially, Angelina’s brilliant work and extraordinary preparation.”  Larraín previously directed Jackie, a biopic about Jackie Kennedy who was caught in a tragic love triangle with Callas. The screenplay for Maria is by Steven Knight, who penned the hit UK series Peaky Blinders. Knight also worked with Larraín on the 2021 biopic Spencer starring Kristen Stewart.

Jolie told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022: “I take very seriously the responsibility to Maria’s life and legacy. I will give all I can to meet the challenge.

“Pablo Larraín is a director I have long admired. To be allowed the chance to tell more of Maria’s story with him, and with a script by Steven Knight, is a dream.”

Angelina Jolie stars as opera diva Maria Callas in 'Maria' biopic. Picture: Pablo Larraín

The independent production has signed to a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement allowing it to begin shooting now, over eight weeks in Paris, Greece, Budapest and Milan. It will feature original garments worn by Callas, according to a press release.

Alongside Jolie, the cast includes Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis) and Valeria Golino (Portrait of a Lady on Fire).

Callas is one of the most celebrated operatic figures in music history. With a range of three octaves, Callas was widely hailed for her bel canto singing, and for her Verdi and Puccini interpretations.

She spent her final years living in isolation in Paris and died of a heart attack aged 53.

Soloist barred from flight – after Ryanair claimed 18th-century violin ‘too big’ for the plane

Soloist unable to board flight – after Ryanair said her 18th-century violin was ‘too big’ for the plane. Picture: Photographer Marco Borggreve / Alamy

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

 

Romanian-born violinist Mihaela Martin claims airline staff said her violin, a Guadagnini dating from 1748, was “too big to take onboard.” 

A leading violinist claims she was denied boarding by Ryanair after being told her violin was too large to take on board.

Mihaela Martin, a Romanian-born soloist who plays in a string quartet with Michael Barenboim, was travelling from the capital, Bucharest, when she was prevented from boarding her flight.

Martin said she had booked her musical instrument, a 1748 Guadagnini violin, as cabin baggage, but was told by staff that she “should have checked it in” as it was too large to take onboard.

“I explained that violins are never checked in and offered to buy [one] more ticket,” she added.

Martin claims the air host told her that “violins are never taken onboard” and that he would “be sacked if he doesn’t go by the book.”

Ryanair’s musical instrument policy states that violins, cellos and guitars that “exceed cabin baggage requirements” can be carried in the cabin “if a seat for it has been reserved and the appropriate fare paid.”

It is unclear whether Martin’s instrument exceeded the requirements. Classic FM has contacted Ryanair for comment.

Read more: Ryanair passenger films baggage handler ‘slamming’ his musical instruments onto airport luggage belt

Kodály: Duo for Violin & Cello, Op. 7: III | Mihaela Martin & Frans Helmersson

After being denied boarding, Martin stayed for one more night in the Romanian capital.

“So one more night in Bucharest where luckily they kept my room at the hotel,” she added in her Facebook post. “Now I have to search [the] internet for a flight tomorrow.

“Never ever again,” she concluded.

Martin performs prolifically across Europe, giving performances with the Bucharest Philharmonic and Staatsorchester Hamburg and featuring at the Verbier Festival and Budapest Academy Festival this season.

A member of the leading Michelangelo String Quartet, Martin has also collaborated in the past with her string quartet colleague’s legendary father Daniel Barenboim.

Alongside her concert commitments, Martin is a professor at the University of Music in Cologne, at the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin, and at the Kronberg Academy in Germany.

She also gives masterclasses around the world and is on the judging panel for competitions including Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition, Romania’s George Enescu International Competition, and the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

10 best musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber – ranked

10 best musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber: from 'Phantom of the Opera' to 'Cats'. Picture: Getty/Alamy

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

 

Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of musical theatre’s most prolific voices. His famous stage works range from biblical to animal – we rank his 10 best. 

Since Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in the 1960s, Andrew Lloyd Webber has made a name for himself as King of the killer show tune, penning some of musical theatre’s catchiest melodies and most rousing choruses.

The subject matter he chooses is startlingly unpredictable. Who would have thought that an obscure Victorian gothic novel – Phantom of the Opera – or a collection of whimsical T.S. Eliot poems about feline psychology – Cats – would be the basis for two of the last half-century’s biggest musical hits?

The last 25 years have seen Lloyd Webber made a life peer, making him a Baron. He is the winner of 45 awards including seven Oliviers, seven Tonys and four Grammys, and owns a number of successful West End theatres through his theatre company.

And so, with more than 60 years of music to choose from, here are 10 of Lloyd Webber’s all-time greatest shows!

1. Love Never Dies

   Love Never Dies, the fan favourite sequel to Lloyd Webber’s megahit Phantom of the Opera, was first previewed on the West End in 2010, but closed soon after and never made it to Broadway.

   The musical was deemed to lack a bit of meat on the bone. But what it lacks in plot, it makes up for in music. The show has a sweeping score and soaring ballads which, when performed by the likes of Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo, transport it to tenth place on the all-time best list.

   

   'Love Never Dies' Anna O'Byrne | Love Never Dies

2. Aspects of Love

   A revival of this 1989 musical reopened in London this year starring Michael Ball and Danielle De Niese but will soon be closing in West End, three months ahead of schedule.

   Its slightly sinister plot includes multiple love affairs with a large age gap. But it has a great energy and a lovely piano-led score, with a strong hit song ‘Love Changes Everything’ – if you can turn a head to the subject matter…

   
   

   

   'Love Changes Everything' Michael Ball | Aspects Of Love

3. School of Rock

   Lloyd Webber’s rock musical had a strong foundation from the off, being based on the 2003 movie hit starring Jack Black as Dewey Finn, a rock guitarist-cum-substitute teacher.

   It’s a classic lovable underdog story, featuring the almighty banger ‘Teacher’s Pet’, as well as an original new rebel anthem, ‘Stick it to the Man’. With a time-tested combination of driving rock rhythms, and soaring musical melodies, this is signature Lloyd Webber and remains a firm audience favourite.

   

   Alex Brightman & the Cast Sing 'Stick it to the Man' From Broadway-Bound SCHOOL OF ROCK

4. Cinderella

   Cinderella was Lloyd Webber’s 13th new musical, and it earned the composer some of the best reviews of his career. Its leading lady, powerhouse musical theatre star Carrie Hope Fletcher, delivers the heart-wrenching ballad ‘I Know I Have a Heart’ with aplomb, and the book, by Oscar-winning Emerald Fennel (The Crown) is funny and charming.

   It was a musical hit by bad timing – not aided perhaps by its renaming to Bad Cinderella for a Broadway crowd – and Covid closures, over which the composer threatened to go to jail to save his show. But after that incredible run on Broadway, we reckon Lloyd Webber went out on a musical high.

   

   Andrew Lloyd Webber & Carrie Hope Fletcher - Bad Cinderella (Official Music Video)

5. Cats

   Neatly fitting into the Venn diagram of completely mad and total genius, Cats marked the end of Lloyd Webber’s run of successful shows with lyricist Tim Rice, instead being based on lyrics from T.S. Eliot’s ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’. It’s filled with memorable moments including the glorious power ballad ‘Memory’.

   Cats has made headlines in the last few years following a Hollywood film adaptation by which Lloyd Webber said he was so “emotionally damaged”, that he had to buy a therapy dog. “The one good thing to come out of it is my little Havanese puppy,” the composer dryly told a journalist.

   
   

   

   'Memory' Elaine Paige | Cats The Musical

6. Sunset Boulevard

   Sunset Boulevard is a deliciously intense adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1950 film. Coming back to the West End this year starring Nicole Scherzinger as the immortal Norma Desmond, its hit songs ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye’ and ‘With One Look’ put it up there with Lloyd Webber’s best. And no one does it like Glenn Close...

   

   The Fabulous Glenn Close Sings 'With One Look' | Sunset Boulevard | The Shows Must Go On!

7. Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat

   Now we move into the reliable realm of the longlasting Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice partnership. After meeting as teenagers, the duo would work prolifically together in a fruitful musical collaboration which produced three hit shows: Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Joseph.

   Based on the Bible’s book of Genesis and originating from a cantata written for school choir, it’s one in a line of Lloyd Webber musicals with unpredictable origins that work startlingly well in musical form. Joseph is jam-packed with catchy tunes including the wide-eyed ballad ‘Any Dream Will Do’, and is a favourite at school productions today.

   

   Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jason Donovan - Any Dream Will Do

8. Evita

   Did you know this Tony-winning show started as a rock opera concept album? The unlikely 70s hit show, containing the heartaching ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ – which repeats rather a lot in various iterations throughout the musical, not that we’re complaining – has yet another unlikely subject matter, being based on the wife of an Argentinian president.

   

   'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' Elaine Paige | EVITA

9. Jesus Christ Superstar

   It’s hard to imagine this being written today, but boy does it have an impact. This adrenaline-pumping rock opera is well within the Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice partnership, and before it was taken over by Cats in the 80s and 90s, it was the West End’s longest running musical.

   The music is thrilling, especially the moment Lloyd Webber forgot his ‘Jesus’ actor was human and gave him a stratospheric G5 to sing at the climax of ‘Gethsemane’.

   

   Gethsemane (Steve Balsamo) - 'Musicals in Ahoy' Concert 2004 | Jesus Christ Superstar

10. The Phantom of the Opera

    The most successful British musical in history, The Phantom of the Opera is an 80s extravaganza of decadent visuals and ageless music. It’s by far Lloyd Webber’s strongest score, from the delicate soprano plea ‘Think Of Me’ to the bare-chested, full throttle ‘The Point of No Return’. Devastatingly romantic, it’s been an incredible showcase over the years for some of the most dizzying soprano voices – from Lesley Garrett to Sierra Boggess.

Romeo proposes to Juliet, after stunning ballet duet on stage at Verona Arena

Romeo proposes to Juliet, after stunning ballet duet on-stage at Verona Arena. Picture: Timofej Andrijashenko / Nicoletta Manni

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

 

A real life-Romeo proposed to his Juliet, on stage during a ballet celebration at the Arena di Verona.

On a balmy night in July, a Romeo and Juliet ‘Pas de deux’ ended in a proposal, for these two ballet dancers in Verona.

Timofej Andrijashenko and Nicoletta Manni had been together for seven years, and both dance at La Scala in Milan as primo ballerino and prima ballerina.

The pair had just performed the duet scene from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet on the stage of the Arena di Verona, the Italian city’s famously atmospheric open-air theatre, and were enjoying the audience’s applause.

As the ovation began to quieten, much to the delight of the audience, Timofej then ever so gracefully made the descent onto one knee. Shakespearean romance then became reality, as he popped the question to a stunned Nicoletta, whose reaction was all elation and adoration.

Speaking afterwards to Italian news agency ANSA, Nicoletta confessed she was “the only one who did not know” about the proposal.

Read more: 11-year-old Japanese dancer takes top ballet prize with this dazzling routine

The show, aptly named ‘Roberto Bolle and Friends’, was put on by the Italian dancer Robert Bolle in the summer of 2022.

Bolle, who is principal dancer étoile at La Scala Theatre Ballet, happens to be a friend of Timofej’s. After Timofej confided in his friend about his plans, Bolle suggested the romantic setting, and asked the couple to dance the Romeo and Juliet dance. 

From that point on, all behind the scenes of the show were involved in the elaborate staging.

Nicoletta’s brother, a lighting designer for the production, had hidden the ring on stage, for Timofej to pick up at the end of their duet.

At that moment, “time had slowed down,” Timofej told ANSA. “It seemed to me that it would never end, until I saw Nicoletta’s eyes looking at me.”

Timofej had also organised for Nicoletta’s parents to be in the audience that night, along with other close friends of theirs.

“I did not know that my boyfriend had organised everything perfectly, without telling me,” Nicoletta said. “He had invited my parents… my brother is a light-designer and is working at the Arena.

“All our dearest ones were there, without my knowledge.”

She said yes... Picture: Timofej Andrijashenko / Nicoletta Manni

Timofej waited until after the final applause, and waited until the other dancers had moved into their places.

“Let’s say that I haven’t recovered yet, I was already very happy to be able to play Juliet in Verona, her city, to dance the duo with Tima, the man I love, my Romeo,” she told the news agency.

It was the perfect setting – Verona, famous for its connection to the Shakespearean couple, and the city to which people from all over the world flock to indulge in the fantasy.

Nicoletta added that much like Romeo and Juliet, “Our love will be immortal”, before adding, “… but less tragic!”

Andrew Lloyd Webber dedicates final ‘Phantom of the Opera’ on Broadway to his late son

Andrew Lloyd Webber dedicates final 'Phantom of the Opera' performance on Broadway to his late son, Nicholas. Picture: Alamy

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

 

The musical theatre composer bid farewell to Broadway’s longest-running show after 35 years and 13,981 performances.

Andrew Lloyd Webber dedicated the final Broadway performance of his musical The Phantom of the Opera to his son Nicholas, who died of cancer last month aged 43.

After 35 years and 13,981 shows that made it the longest-running show in Broadway history, Phantom took its final bow on Sunday evening at the Majestic Theatre in New York City.

“I hope you won’t mind if I dedicate this performance to my son, Nick,” Lloyd Webber told theatregoers.

Turning to soprano Sarah Brightman, who was formerly married to Lloyd Webber, he recalled: “When Nick was a little boy, he heard some of this music and he loved it.”

“Yes, he did,” Brightman responded. “When Andrew was writing it, he was right there. So his soul is with us. Nick, we love you very much.”

Lloyd Webber announced his son’s death on 25 March. In his statement, he said he was “shattered” by the news.

'Phantom' takes its final bow on Broadway on 16 April. Picture: Alamy

In September 2022, it was announced that Phantom would have its final curtain call in 2023. By November, it had been given a two-month extension after an encouraging spike in ticket sales.

Eventually on Sunday 16 April, the cast took their final bow in an emotional last performance. Emilie Kouatchou, the first Black actress to play Christine full time on Broadway, received a mid-show standing ovation for her sublime rendition of ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again’.  

Throughout the performance, iconic pieces of décor including the Phantom’s boat, entered the stage to the sound of cheers and whistles from the audience. Watch below as the chandelier rose for the final time...

To date, the show has won seven Tony Awards, including best musical.

Throughout its 35-year run, the production has employed a total of around 6,500 people, including 400 actors.

Brightman added on the night that she doesn’t “feel it’s the end” for the popular musical, hinting at its return to Broadway in the future.