How did Maria Callas die? Cause of death explored as Netflix drops biopic 

Maria is a biographical drama film directed by Pablo Larraín. It was released on Netflix on December 11, 2024. Steven Knight wrote the screenplay.

The film is about the legendary opera singer Maria Callas and follows her in the last week of her life. The singer's life is showcased through various flashbacks in which we get to see her early days and her relationship with her mother and also her lover Aristotle Onassis.

The film ends with the singer singing one last time in her Paris apartment after which she collapses and dies. Maria Callas' cause of death was a fatal heart attack.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as the titular character, while Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, and Kodi Smit-McPhee play prominent roles.

The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2024, and was later released in limited theatres in the United States on November 27, 2024.

Disclaimer: The article contains major spoilers for the film. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Maria Callas died of a heart stroke

The film begins with a shot of Callas' lavish Paris apartment. The camera moves from the pristine furniture, expensive painting, and grand chandelier, to the singer's lifeless body lying on the living room floor. Maria Callas' cause of death was a heart attack on September 16, 1977, at the age of 53.

The film is set during the final week of Callas' life when she had been out of the limelight for many years and hadn't sung on stage for over a decade. She had not lost her voice, but it was nowhere near the sheer perfection that she once commanded, that used to mesmerize the listeners.

In the film, she finally sings after years, not for an audience, but for herself. As she sings, the images of the important people in her life fade away.

She struggles to sing, but her voice is enough to make the passers below her apartment stop and listen. After the song ends, her butler and housekeeper find her dead on the living room floor.

The singer had lived a life full of trials and turbulences, which the film touches upon through various flashbacks in black and white. She had a poor relationship with her mother and an unfulfilled love life.

The film shows her having frequent dreams of being visited by her former lover, Aristotle Onassis's ghost.

The New York Times reported during the time of her death that she was preparing to write her autobiography for a New York publisher. After her death, a funeral service was held at Saint Stephen’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Paris, which was attended by many high-profile people.

Her remains were cremated at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. In June 1979, her ashes were scattered in the Aegean Sea.

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Who is in the cast of the film?

• Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas
• Aggelina Papadopoulou as young Maria Callas
• Pierfrancesco Favino as Ferruccio
• Alba Rohrwacher as Bruna
• Haluk Bilginer as Aristotle Onassis
• Kodi Smit-McPhee as Mandrax
• Valeria Golino as Yakinthi Callas
• Alessandro Bressanello as Giovanni Battista Meneghini
• Caspar Phillipson as John F. Kennedy
• Kay Madsen as a Cameraman
• Lyes Salem as a Waiter
• Paul Spera as Ronald
• Jorg Westphal as an SS Officer
• Philippe Droste as an SS Officer

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How to watch the film?

Maria was released on Netflix on December 11, 2024. Viewers need a subscription to the streaming platform to watch the film. The cost of a subscription varies according to user location. In the United States, the subscription cost ranges from $6.99-22.99 per month.

At $6.99 per month, one can access the entire library of movies, shows, and documentaries and stream in standard video quality with ads. The $22.99 package allows subscribers to stream videos at Ultra HD without ads on up to six devices.

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Stay tuned for more news and updates on Maria and other movies and TV shows on Netflix.