Angelina Jolie steps into the shoes of opera legend Maria Callas in the new biopic Maria, directed by Pablo Larraín. The first trailer reveals Jolie’s emotional portrayal, showcasing her transformation into the famous soprano.

The Metropolitan Opera House was awash in pearls and tuxedos on a recent gala evening. Socialites traded political gossip by the bar, and bankers discussed coming vacations in the Maldives. Then a golden elevator door slid open and a glamorous figure slipped out.

“Maria,” Pablo Larraín’s cinematic portrait of opera legend Maria Callas, arrives as the third of the director’s films centered on iconic women of the 20th century.

Pablo Larraín talks about his new film Maria, starring Angelina Jolie, which charts the final days of iconic diva Maria Callas.

Finding the breath of Maria Callas was enough to bring things out of Jolie that she didn’t even know were in her.

While the glamorous role of a declining opera diva would seem perfect for a star of Jolie's profile, it's undernourished by the screenplay's limited conception.

Angelina Jolie glides through the final days of Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s “Maria." Currently playing in select theaters and streaming on Netflix Dec. 11, “Maria," rated R, plays like an opera, grandly theatrical and evocative of a larger-than-life star.