Is Angelina Jolie Singing in Maria? How the Actress Transformed Into Opera Legend Maria Callas (and Her Shocking Reaction to Singing for the First Time!)

Angelina Jolie may not have a background in singing, but that didn’t stop her from mastering the art of opera for her role in Maria.

In Pablo Larraín’s biopic — which is now streaming on Netflix — Jolie takes on the role of opera legend Maria Callas, portraying the final chapter of her life in Paris leading up to her death in 1977. Although Jolie had no prior singing experience, she dedicated nearly seven months to intensive training under the guidance of coach Eric Vetro, whose clients include renowned vocalists like Ariana Grande and Lea Michele.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone make such a huge difference from the first day to the last day,” Vetro told PEOPLE in December 2024 of Jolie’s training progress.

Despite feeling “a little nervous and shy about singing in the beginning,” the vocal coach knew Jolie’s determination would drive her, noting that “her desire to do a great job overrode anything that might stop her.”

Vetro recalled the moment he heard Jolie sing “O mio babbino caro,” a soprano aria from the 1918 opera Gianni Schicchi, calling it the “most thrilling day” of their time together.

“I was like, ‘This is it. She can do it. She’s the perfect person to play this role,’ ” he said. “And I’m someone who loved Maria Callas — I really did. She was one of my favorite opera singers, and so it really touched me that she was able to do it like this.”

So is Angelina Jolie really singing in Maria? Here’s everything to know about how she transformed into the opera legend for Maria and what the star has said about her training process.

Is Angelina Jolie singing in Maria?

Jolie is singing in Maria, though she isn’t entirely alone. In September 2024, Larraín revealed to IndieWire that the film’s vocal elements were carefully crafted during post-production, blending Jolie’s singing with Callas’ voice.

“Sometimes you hear 1 percent of Angelina’s voice, sometimes it’s 5 percent, sometimes it’s forty percent,” Larraín explained. “In a couple of times, not very often, but it does happen, you listen to sixty percent or seventy percent of Angelina’s voice.”

He emphasized that while the film centers on Callas’ legendary voice — which they wanted to ensure would be heard — Jolie’s live performances on set were critical to its authenticity.

“In order to make it believable, Angelina had to sing out loud in front of her crew and hundreds of extras in order to make it possible,” Larraín said. “Even if you have a great performance and everything is beautiful, if you don’t believe that she’s actually singing, there’s no movie, and I think she pulled it off.”

Did Angelina Jolie have any singing background before filming Maria?

Vetro told PEOPLE that Jolie started from “ground zero,” with no prior singing experience before filming Maria.

Jolie said as much in an August 2024 press conference ahead of the movie’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, sharing that she didn’t even have experience singing as a hobby.

When asked if she had a favorite karaoke song, she responded, “I didn’t sing before this [movie] so I haven’t done karaoke, but now maybe I have a few!”

That same month, Jolie also shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that someone from a past relationship “who was not kind to [her] about singing” made her think she wasn’t capable of it.

“I’d been to theater school, so it was weird that it even had an effect on me. I just kind of adapted to this person’s opinion,” she said. “It took me getting past a lot of things to start singing.”

How did Angelina Jolie prepare to sing in Maria?

Larraín told IndieWire that Jolie underwent an intensive seven-month training regimen to prepare for Maria, focusing on various techniques, including breathing, posture and accent.

“She sang in Italian and French, but mostly Italian,” he said.

Then, she had to master the pitch — which he described as “the capacity to reach each note and follow the melody,” adding that it was “very challenging for her.”

Larraín further acknowledged the difficulty of learning opera for someone without a musical background.

“This is not pop music. It’s not like you get in a car and put on a David Bowie song and you’ll be able to sing it,” he said. “It’s just you can’t really sing opera unless you really, really train.”

At the Venice press conference, Jolie reflected on the process and credited Larraín for allowing her to grow into the role.

“In his decency, [he] started me in a small room and ended me in La Scala,” she said, referencing the historic Milan opera house. “So he gave me time to grow. I was frightened to live up to [Callas].”

What has Angelina Jolie said about her role in Maria?

Though Jolie eventually became big-screen ready for Maria, the journey wasn’t easy. While at the Venice Film Festival, she shared that she was “terribly nervous,” but had the help of some special people in her life.

“My first time singing, I remember being so nervous. My sons were there and they helped to block the door [so] that nobody else was coming in, and I was shaky,” the Oscar winner said.

The process of finding her voice also proved to be deeply personal and transformative. In an October 2024 interview with Variety, Jolie recalled getting “really emotional” on her first day of singing lessons.

“I walked into [a] room with the piano, and somebody said, ‘Ok, let’s see where you’re at,’ ” Jolie recalled. “I took a big deep breath, and I let out a sound, and I started crying. I think we all don’t realize how much we hold inside our bodies, and how much we carry and how much that affects our sound and our voice.”

She added, “I’ve been holding a lot for a long time, and that beginning and that sound, and then when that sound would eventually come, it was the best therapy I’ve ever had. Honestly, I think I would tell a lot of people before you try therapy and spend too much time there, go to singing class.”

Although it was a long, nerve-wracking process, she told Entertainment Tonight in October 2024 that it was a “great gift” to be trained in “something new” at this point in her life — and shared her newfound admiration for the art form.

“I have such a love and respect for opera and opera singers and that world and those composers and the arias are so beautiful,” Jolie said.