Angelina Jolie Takes Her Acting to New Heights—The Surprising Impact of Opera Training

Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of the iconic opera singer Maria Callas in the 2024 biographical film Maria has had a significant impact on her acting style in 2025, particularly in terms of physicality, emotional depth, and vocal technique. For the film, directed by Pablo Larraín, Jolie underwent an intense seven months of opera training, a skill she had never publicly showcased before. This extensive preparation has not only influenced her portrayal of Callas but is also setting the stage for her future roles and directorial projects.

Maria, which premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in August 2024, chronicles the final years of Maria Callas in 1970s Paris. For Jolie, stepping into the shoes of the celebrated opera singer required more than just acting—it required her to sing opera, something she had never done professionally. As reported by sources like Variety and USA Today, Jolie began with basic vocal exercises and progressed to live performances at the legendary La Scala opera house, where she performed alongside Callas’ original recordings to perfect her cadence and vocal delivery. Director Larraín was insistent on authenticity, stating, “You can’t make a movie like this with an actress that is not actually singing it,” underlining the importance of real opera for the role.

Jolie herself admitted to initial nervousness about the challenge, saying, “I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll pretend-sing and I’ll get through this,’ but you can’t pretend opera.” This moment of realization marked the beginning of a rigorous and transformative training period that pushed her boundaries both physically and emotionally. Her vocal training not only helped her embody Callas’ technical skill but also allowed her to connect with the character on a deeper level, blending her voice with Callas’ recordings to match the emotional intensity of the opera legend.

The physical demands of opera singing had a profound influence on Jolie’s acting technique, particularly in how she approaches movement and breath control. As she described to USA Today, singing opera felt “fully in your body at your fullest sound,” suggesting a newfound awareness of the physicality required to produce such powerful, resonant notes. This physical connection likely translates to her acting, where she now places greater emphasis on bodily presence and breath control, especially in roles that demand emotional depth. For instance, she mentioned in Variety that she often felt “very dizzy” when belting out notes, underscoring the immense physical challenge that opera posed for her. This experience may lead her to approach future roles with an increased focus on the physical preparation required to bring characters to life authentically.

As of April 2025, while specific upcoming acting projects have not been disclosed, industry insiders suggest that Jolie is in a period of evolution, reflecting on her work and preparing for new roles. Her absence from the 2025 Oscars has led some to speculate that she may be focusing on projects that allow her to explore new aspects of her craft. Her involvement with Broadway’s The Outsiders as a producer in 2024 and her directorial efforts in films like Without Blood (2023) point to a growing interest in guiding and shaping stories behind the camera, perhaps influenced by her opera training’s focus on vocal and physical expression.

Jolie’s opera training is a departure from her earlier, more physically demanding roles like Evelyn Salt in Salt (2010) or Maleficent in Maleficent (2014), where her strength was demonstrated through action rather than vocal skill. In contrast, Maria has introduced a new layer to her acting, integrating both physical presence and vocal depth. This combination has the potential to bring a new dimension to her future performances, particularly in roles that require vulnerability and emotional rawness, qualities she has described as a personal hallmark in her work, calling herself a “raw nerve” in an interview with Vanity Fair.

In conclusion, Angelina Jolie’s opera training for Maria has clearly shaped her acting approach in 2025, making her performances more immersive by emphasizing physical presence, emotional depth, and vocal technique. As she moves forward with new roles and projects, it is likely that this period of intense training will continue to influence her work, adding a new layer to her already versatile skill set. Whether acting or directing, Jolie’s experience with opera seems to have opened up new creative possibilities, marking a significant evolution in her artistic journey.