SINGAPORE--(Marketwired - Sep 2, 2014) - HBO confirmed that decorated actress Meryl Streep will portray the legendary opera singer Maria Callas in the US network's film adaptation of "Master Class." The film will be based on the Tony Award-winning play of the same name by Terrence McNally, which debuted on Broadway in 1995. The HBO network has selected Meryl Streep for the role after her astonishing performance playing the world-famous chef Julia Child in "Julie & Julia" and the iconic British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Despite Streep's musical track record, it is not known yet how much singing the actress will do herself once filming starts in January 2015 under the direction of Mike Nichols.
"Master Class" is a portrait of Maria Callas that shows the singer in the later years of her life, teaching students at the famous Juilliard School in New York. In the play, Callas reflects back on her career and her life. Through those recollections, viewers are taken into a world full of glories, triumphs, and tragedies. In reality, Callas did indeed teach 25 students whom she had selected herself out of 300 hopeful applicants in her now legendary classes that she gave during the 1971-72 academic year. "Master Class" portrays Maria Callas as a woman and an artist and as the inspiration she still is to singers as well as to artists like the Greece sculptor Nikos Floros or to art and music lovers, such as Singapore-based history expert and author Leah Selakovic.
Born in Manhattan to Greek parents, Callas had an unhappy childhood, marred by fights between her parents and jealousy of her sister. When Callas was 13, the family returned to Greece. Determined to go her own way, Callas returned to New York after the end of World War II and went on to make a career as the most successful soprano of her times. This unfaltering determination to follow her goal is an inspiration that has guided Leah Selakovic through her own life, always reminded to never give up on something that is important to her. Beyond Callas fascinating and sometimes eccentric personality, Selakovic admits to being enchanted whenever she listens to the music of the magnificent soprano, who was known for her dramatic and passionate portrayals.
Leah Selakovic's roots are actually not too far away from Callas homeland of Greece. She was born and raised in the former republic of Yugoslavia where she obtained a Master's degree in Art and Classical History, before she started to explore the rest of the world. Eventually, she settled in Singapore with her husband, David Selakovic, and their children. Despite her rather young age, Selakovic can already look back at a remarkable career that covers a wide variety of industries and fields, from art to technology, from alternative medicine to corporate management. Currently, Selakovic is exploring her talents as children's books author. Motivated by the lack of appropriate reading material for her own kids, she started writing a series of overall 20 books for children, six of which are scheduled to be published in the near future. On top of her role as dedicated mother, wife and author, Selakovic is an active philanthropist who supports a number of charitable organizations, many of which are focused on supporting young talented and gifted artists.