Maria: When Aggelina met Angelina (to portray Maria Callas)

An iconic diva who made history worldwide with her incredible voice, a huge, shining Hollywood star, and, somewhere between them, a young, talented girl from Greece linking them in their on-screen coexistence.

The first is Maria Callas, the greatest voice ever to grace the world of opera. The second is Angelina Jolie, who takes on the demanding role of portraying her in Pablo Larraín’s biographical drama Maria. And the third is Aggelina Papadopoulou, the Greek actress who plays the legendary soprano during the tender yet challenging age of 17.

Aggelina Papadopoulou at the film’s premiere at the London Film Festival.

In late August, this brunette girl with expressive eyes and a beautiful voice made her debut on the dazzling screen at the Venice Film Festival, where the film’s world premiere took place, directed by the award-winning Chilean master of biographical films. The name “Aggelina Papadopoulou” appeared among the notable credits of a film set to make its Greek premiere on October 31, opening this year’s Thessaloniki Film Festival, with a general release to follow on December 5.

Watch the Trailer for Maria

Until then, her role in the film had been a closely guarded secret, as it was an absolute condition of the production to avoid any leaks. Moreover, since Aggelina didn’t attend the Venice world premiere, the identity of the young woman portraying the young Maria Callas remained unknown until recently. Her first official appearance took place just a few days ago at the London Film Festival, where the film was screened.

The warm embrace she received from Angelina Jolie in front of the flashing cameras, her photos with all the film’s cast on the red carpet, and the enthusiastic audience response at the screening’s conclusion may have, for the first time, made her realize that at just 18 years old, she was living a fairy tale beyond her wildest dreams.

Aggelina Papadopoulou and Angelina Jolie at the Film’s London Presentation
Growing up immersed in music.

Music and acting have been a constant in Aggelina Papadopoulou’s life from an early age; her mother owns a music school, and her father is an actor. She began voice lessons at just 8 years old, and even earlier, at 5, she had her first experience with dance. This was followed by piano and violin lessons and intensive acting classes, as her voice was clearly her strongest asset.

At 16, while attending high school, she officially started her professional career as a vocal actor for series and films by Disney, Netflix, and other international productions. This marked her first entry into the foreign market and an early indication of her potential to carve out a bright artistic path. But even so, she could never have imagined herself part of a major Hollywood production.

Watch Another Trailer Featuring Scenes from Maria

Even when the opportunity to audition for an international film role came to her mother’s music school, Aggelina decided to give it a try, though she didn’t have high expectations. The information provided was minimal: they were searching for a young girl around 17 years old, with Mediterranean features and strong vocal ability, for a role in a film about Maria Callas’s life.

Aggelina Papadopoulou is the Greek actress portraying the legendary “Maria” at the tender yet challenging age of 17. Her resemblance to the teenage Callas is striking.

The same casting call had reached all the music schools across the country, resulting in high participation. Around 1,000 people from Greece, Italy, and Spain went through the audition process, which unfolded in stages. Initially, they were asked to submit a video performing two specific pieces: an opera aria and a rebetiko song, with only 24 hours to prepare.

Aggelina Papadopoulou on Set

Aggelina went to the music school and performed the pieces with considerable anxiety due to the time pressure and the fact that she hadn’t focused much on classical singing. Two days later, she was asked to send a new video, this time wearing period clothing, followed by an additional audition at a studio affiliated with the production in Athens.

In late September, the phone rang with the exciting news. Aggelina Papadopoulou had landed the role, and in a few days, she would travel abroad to rehearse and film with the movie’s director and leading actress, Angelina Jolie. The excitement for her and her family was immense. She had been given a tremendous opportunity, something so grand she had hardly dared to dream of it just days earlier.

Angelina Jolie in “Maria,” Premiering in Greece on October 31 at the Thessaloniki Film Festival

In October 2023, Aggelina traveled to Budapest, where much of the movie was filmed. Prior scenes had already been shot with the lead actress in Paris and in Greece, in the region of Ilia. In the Hungarian capital, the young Greek actress was fully immersed in the atmosphere of a Hollywood production with a large cast and crew. Initially, she underwent rehearsals for costumes, hairstyles, and makeup, and then began preparing for her role.

A grand, old building in Budapest was chosen as the filming location, transformed into a studio meant to represent the famous house on Patission Street in Athens, an architectural gem where Maria Callas spent her teenage years with her mother and sister.

The First Meeting with Jolie

This location was also where she had her first meeting with Angelina Jolie, who immediately treated her with warmth and affection. The famous star was approachable, advised her not to feel nervous, and tried to boost her confidence, telling her that she had heard great things about her. Jolie’s love for children was apparent, as was her intense dedication to the demanding role of Maria Callas. Committed, calm, yet a perfectionist…

Angelina Jolie, Director Pablo Larraín, and Aggelina Papadopoulou with the Film’s Cast at the London Premiere

Aggelina Papadopoulou’s role lasts about ten minutes. Initially, we see her with her manipulative mother, played by Lydia Koniordou, who pressures her to sing even for the German occupiers. Her shared scene with Angelina Jolie appears toward the end, in a highly atmospheric and deeply moving journey through time and Callas’s tumultuous life. A life marked indelibly by her extraordinary talent but also by the immense emotional pressure exerted by the significant people in her life—a life that began with hardship, soared to the heights, but tragically ended in a painful fall and an early, sorrowful death from a broken heart.

Perhaps this is the most important and valuable lesson Aggelina Papadopoulou learned from her first journey into the magical world of Hollywood: that no matter how talented one is, how hard they work, or how many successes they achieve, it is not enough to bring happiness if those close to them do not offer genuine, selfless love.

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