Christiana Alonevtis: The Greek Cypriot soprano who plays the young Callas

of Marina Charalambous

At the Thessaloniki Film Festival, the first screening of the long-awaited film “Maria» where the Oscar winner Angelina Jolie plays her Maria Callas. Looking back at the most pivotal points of her turbulent life we ​​also see the years when she was young. OR Christiana Alonevtis plays the legendary Greek soprano and speaks in skai.gr about the experience, her international film debut and her collaboration with Angelina Jolie.

A few words about Christiana Alonevtis:

The Greek-Cypriot Australian soprano and film actress, Christiana Alonevti, is a child of the Cypriot diaspora, born in Melbourne. Alonevti won the 2021 CHASS Award presented by the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Council of Australia for her distinguished body of work for her “outstanding and varied contribution to the arts, as a performer and coach”.

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How did you start your career and what were your first steps?

I have followed a path that I would not call “ordinary”. Mainly, I have been active as a freelance singer in the world of opera and concert music, while also running an international coaching studio. I have completed internships at the Bavarian Military Opera in Munich and Opera Australia. I get a lot of joy out of doing different things! Last summer, I covered the title role in “Sister Angelica” (Puccini) at the 40th International Mezza Estate Festival in Tagliacozzo, AQ Italy, a beautiful introduction to opera’s most lyrical and dramatic roles. On November 14, 2024, I will present an evening of song and piano at the B & M Theocharaki Foundation for Fine Arts and Music in Athens, together with one of Greece’s leading collaborative pianists, Dimitris Giakas.

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How did you make the decision to get into this type of music at such a young age?

I’ve been singing since we had choirs in Melbourne, Australia, where I was born and raised. When I was seven years old, my father took me to my first rehearsal of the children’s choir of the Greek School where I learned to sing traditional Greek songs. The idea was for the Greek-speaking children of the Australian diaspora to have contact with the Greek language and culture through music. I started singing lessons in my teens, but my strong point was classical music.

So, at sixteen, I painfully buried the idea that I was going to be the next Beyoncé! My teacher then gave me an Italian arietta and that’s how I started my real vocal training. Much to the dismay of my parents, I gave up my law scholarship and went on to study music at the University of Melbourne and later on a full scholarship to the École Normale de Musique ‘Alfred Cortot’ in Paris. I think my enthusiasm for languages ​​was nurtured at the same time, through opera and classical singing.

I had also participated in many theater productions: in English, Greek and Italian. No one in my family is a musician, but they love the arts! My mom was a ballerina when she was young and my dad is a visual artist.

You have also received many awards as a soprano.

Yes, of course. I recently won the 2024 Brian Boak Outstanding Performer’s Bursary, which is presented by the Empire Theater and is an honour. This award has changed my life in many ways, as it allows me to simultaneously build an international career in film and opera.

Getting into the field, regardless of artistic discipline, is extremely difficult, especially if you come from a “humble” background, which is why funding and awards, such as the Brian Boak, are so important at all stages of career. New artists have to pay for lawyers, agent fees, training, travel, accommodation, materials, PR and publicity, and the list goes on. My training time as a soprano was extended due to my voice type. Career awards and scholarships are the reason I have been able to advance my career so far.

I am extremely grateful. Support with discipline and rigor leads to that artistic level that people call talent. But talent is only 10% of the equation.

How did your journey to portray the young Maria Callas begin? What was the casting process like?

I felt like it was a bit fated to happen. An Italian actor friend of mine, Giuseppe Messina, saw a post on a Facebook group for opera singers and suggested I apply. I have often been told that I have some similarities in aesthetics, with the great Diva and knowing how much I admire Maria Callas, my friend insisted that I apply to go to this casting. There was very little or no information about the production, so when I got the call that I had been cast, I couldn’t believe it! But I am also grateful to the Casting Director in Athens, Sofia Dimopoulou, for the opportunity of a lifetime.

How did you prepare for such a demanding role?

I think I’ve been preparing for this role my whole life, in a way. Like the role I play (as young Callas), I am a real, professional opera singer working to make her first international debut. I didn’t have to play a “mask”. It is my own personal journey of struggle and passion.

I relate to Callas’ experience as a young opera singer – the highs and lows, the challenges, the sacrifices and the hours of dedication and love for an unforgiving craft. Being an opera singer is a difficult profession and requires ALL of yourself: Body and soul, but the reward gained through authentic passion and expression is incomparable. I think we see this toll on Callas, in her last days on earth, embodied in Jolie’s beautiful performance. I also spent hours listening to the “Callas Remastered – Warner Classics Box Set”, which contains all the studio recordings Maria Callas made.

Meeting Alain Lanceron, President of Warner Classics & Erato, at the world premiere of ‘Maria’ in Venice, along with our Executive Music Producer, John Warhurst, was an unforgettable experience. There is a lot of emphasis on the way things look in the film. When you’re making a film about the greatest operatic diva of the 20th century, how things sound is just as important. Our excellent director, Pablo Larraín, and cinematographer, Edward Lachman, totally got it. Together and with the collaboration of the entire cast and creative team, they created a passionate, beautiful psychological visual and audio portrait of Maria Callas that satisfies ALL the senses.

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What are the characteristics that most impressed you in the young Maria Callas when you were studying your role?

Young Callas believed in herself a lot. This is such a revolutionary attitude in a world that constantly makes you question your existence, your performance and your talent, especially as a woman in the entertainment industry. Calla’s discipline and total dedication to the highest purpose of her art was exemplary. She wasn’t afraid to be the protagonist of her own pioneering journey. There is so much courage in such an approach to life. It inspires me so much, artistically.

How was your collaboration with Angelina Jolie? Did he give you any advice?

Yes, I met Angelina Jolie the day we were both shooting our scenes on the iconic stage of the Hungarian National Opera. I was shooting the scene where the young Callas makes her debut singing Elvira’s aria, “Qui la voce sua soave” and Angelina was shooting the Medea scene, after me, on the same day.

Our dressing rooms were next to each other. It was a surreal experience to meet Jolie, who I admired so much on the big screen, especially in films like Tomb Raider. She was very kind and supportive and it was an honor to have her watch me as I shot my scene. What impressed me the most was Angelina’s humanity, simplicity and heart.

Her incarnation of the role of Callas honors both the legacy of the most remarkable female opera singer of the 20th century and my role model, Maria Callas, and the art of opera in general. I appreciated her words of encouragement and hope to have the opportunity to work with her in some way in the future.

What were the most important lessons you learned in your collaboration on a major film project?

Being a part of the film about Maria was an unforgettable experience and further increased my passion to further explore film and television as another artistic medium of self-expression that can frame my path as an opera singer. The experience taught me to remain open and flexible and to believe that good things can come out of even the most “difficult” times.

I remember filming my audition videos last fall in a small apartment I rented for very little money in Budapest (I was there for an audition). I must have taken about 63 shots on my phone of this particular clip and I wasn’t happy with anything. This is my perfectionist side! I’m still working on being happy with where I am artistically. Two months later I was standing on the main stage of the Hungarian National Opera simulating the debut of the young Callas. The important thing is to keep persevering.

What is your vision for your career path?

It is my intention to continue to build an international career. I consider myself both an opera singer and an actress. As a film actress, I am very curious to see where things will take me after the movie ‘Maria’. I have some major projects in the works, but I can’t talk about them yet. It’s a very exciting time for me – a time of limitless possibilities, but also of preparation, determination and creation.

In film, I hope to continue working in various markets, embodying characters with substance and deep psychological complexity. This is no different from the great female heroines I play on the opera stage. The environment and the medium of expression differ, but not the fundamental quality of the characters.

Ultimately, success for me, as an artist and a woman, is closely tied to my core values: courage, freedom, integrity and connection. If I can play liberated and true, the audience will be moved, recognition will come and my career will advance. I want to share generously all that is in my heart and spirit!