Callas Forever (2002)

Non-Original Music by
Vincenzo Bellini (cavatina "Casta diva" from opera "Norma")
Georges Bizet (from opera "Carmen")
Topper Headon (opening title "Complete Control") (as T. Headon)
Mick Jones (opening title "Complete Control") (as M. Jones)
Giacomo Puccini (from opera "Tosca")
Giacomo Puccini (aria "Donna non vidi mai" from opera "Manon Lescaut")
Giacomo Puccini (aria "Un bel di vedremo" from opera "Madama Butterfly")
Giacomo Puccini (arietta "O mio babbino caro" from opera "Il Trittico - Gianni Schicchi")
Paul Simonon (opening title "Complete Control") (as P. Simonon)
Joe Strummer (opening title "Complete Control") (as J. Strummer)
Giuseppe Verdi (brindisi "Libiamo ne lieti calici" from opera "La Traviata")

Cast Fanny ARDANT, Jeremy IRONS, Joan PLOWRIGHT …

The partially fictionalized film is set in 1977, the year in which Callas died, and centers on the making of a movie of Georges Bizet's Carmen. The diva, whose now-ragged voice is well past its prime, is persuaded to star in it by longtime friend and former manager Larry Kelly, who abandoned classical music to become a rock impresario. He insists by lip-synching to her old recording she will recapture her lost youth and leave behind a priceless legacy for her admirers, and his theory is supported by Callas confidante and journalist Sarah Keller.

1977. Larry Kelly, impresario d'un groupe de rock en vue, débarque à Paris. Il en profite pour rendre visite à Maria Callas, dont il a organisé l'ultime récital, un terrible fiasco personnel pour la diva. En effet, sa voix s'étant brisée, sa vie d'artiste semble éteinte à jamais. Elle refuse tout d'abord de le voir, mais finalement, hantée par son passé, finit par accepter sa proposition : tourner une version de Carmen où elle sera doublée par elle-même, du temps de sa splendeur. Le tournage permet à la travailleuse acharnée, et perfectionniste au tempérament explosif, de revenir à la vie. D'autres opéras filmés doivent suivre. Mais refusant de berner son public, et de vendre son âme au diable, la Callas exigera que le négatif soit détruit….