“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.

Angelina Jolie never expected to hit all the notes. But finding the breath of Maria Callas was enough to bring things out of Jolie that she didn’t even know were in her. “All of us, we really don’t realize where things land in our body over a lifetime of different experiences and where we hold it to protect ourselves,

If you want to learn more about who the real Maria Callas was before watching Angelina's latest acclaimed performance—which hits theaters on November 27 before heading to Netflix on December 11—, here's an introduction to the renowned opera singer.