{"id":182,"date":"2024-11-20T14:15:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T14:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/?page_id=182"},"modified":"2026-05-22T17:32:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T17:32:00","slug":"a-propos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/a-propos\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n \"Portrait\n<\/div>\n

Tom Volf<\/strong> is a French author, author, filmmaker, stage director, photographer, photographer, producer and curator. Born in St. Petersburg<\/strong>, he grew up in France and studied in the United States before returning to France in 2015. He is president of the Maria Callas Endowment Fund<\/strong> which he co-founded in 2017.<\/p>\n

First steps \u2014 music and stage<\/h2>\n

Between 2001 and 2007<\/strong>, Tom Volf is a singer-songwriter (concerts, album) and actor-comedian (TV films, cinema). He trained in directing and acting at theActor\u2019s Studio in New York<\/strong>, where he studied the Strasberg method.<\/p>\n

Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Ch\u00e2telet \u2014 2007\/2011<\/h2>\n

His career in directing began in Paris in 2008, when he joined the team of Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Ch\u00e2telet<\/strong>. Initially a videographer, he filmed shows and interviewed international artists \u2014 Pl\u00e1cido Domingo<\/strong>, Sting<\/strong>, David Cronenberg<\/strong> \u2014 between 2007 and 2011. Then, between 2009 and 2011, he collaborated on the staging of several productions, notably Welcome to the Voice<\/em> and Vespro della Beata Vergine<\/em> (Monteverdi). Over the seasons, he gained solid experience with Wagner productions (Die Feen<\/em>), Alfano (Cyrano de Bergerac<\/em>) and original creations (The Fly<\/em> by Howard Shore).<\/p>\n

In 2011-2012, at the same time, he developed a practice of medium format film fashion photography<\/strong>, especially with the brand The Label<\/em>, and signs several campaigns and advertising clips. During the same period, he produced fashion campaigns and institutional films, including a collaboration with theOECD<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Maria Callas \u2014 a five-year journey<\/h2>\n

In 2013, now installed at new York<\/strong>, there discovery of Maria Callas<\/strong> becomes a turning point. What follows is a five-year journey to create the film Maria by Callas, in her own words<\/em> \u2014 directed, written and co-produced by Tom Volf (Elephant Doc, mk2 Films), narrated in French by Fanny Ardant<\/strong>. The film was released in France in 2017 then in more than 50 countries in 2018. Selected in more than fifteen international festivals (Rome, Toronto TIFF Docs, New York, Chicago, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Thessaloniki, etc.), it was crowned in 2018 \u201cmost seen French film internationally\u201d<\/strong> by UniFrance, and receives the Prize for Best Documentary (Music & Dance)<\/strong> at the Master of Art Film Festival.<\/p>\n

The same year, he was the creator and curator of the major eponymous exhibition in Paris, La Seine Musicale<\/strong> (September 16 \u2013 December 14, 2017, more than 30,000 visitors), then the following year at Grimaldi Forum<\/strong> of Monte-Carlo, inaugurated by H.S.H. Prince Albert II<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tom Volf publishes three works on Callas: Maria by Callas<\/em> (Assouline 2017, reed. 2023), Callas Confidential<\/em> (La Martini\u00e8re 2017) and Maria Callas: Letters & Memoirs<\/em> (Albin Michel 2019) \u2014 bringing together more than 350 unpublished letters and the singer's unfinished memoirs, the fruit of two years of research. The book is translated into Italian (Rizzoli), Greek (Patakis), Spanish and Russian.<\/p>\n

The theatre, with Monica Bellucci<\/h2>\n

In December 2019, Tom Volf approaches Monica Bellucci<\/strong>, who agrees to go on stage for the first time in her career, in the show he is directing from his book Maria Callas: Letters & Memoirs<\/em>. Tom Volf also designed the lights, sound and poster.<\/p>\n

After the Parisian creation in Th\u00e9\u00e2tre Marigny<\/strong> and the recovery to Bouffes Parisiens<\/strong>, the show begins an international tour (2021\u20132023): Rome, Milan, Venice, Barcelona, Lisbon, Athens, Istanbul, London (Her Majesty\u2019s Theatre), Paris (Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Ch\u00e2telet) and New York, where the last performance is sold out at the Beacon Theatre<\/strong> January 27, 2023 \u2014 Maria Callas' centenary. Three languages on the tour: French, Italian, English.<\/p>\n

Immersive exhibitions \u2014 Jam Capsule<\/h2>\n

In 2020, Tom Volf designs two immersive experiences presented at the Great Hall of La Villette<\/strong> in Paris: Maria Callas \u2014 The Experience<\/em> and Mystic Gardens<\/em>, immersive journey through 15th century Flemish paintinge<\/sup> century (Van Eyck, Bosch, van der Weyden). The Jam Capsule system \u2014 2,500 m\u00b2 of 360\u00b0 4K projection \u2014 welcomes the creation with narration by Fanny Ardant.<\/p>\n

Norma \u2014 at the foot of the Acropolis<\/h2>\n

In August 2023, for the centenary of Maria Callas, he is staging a new production of Norma<\/em> from Bellini toOdeon of Herodes Atticus<\/strong> in Athens \u2014 ancient theatre where Callas made her debut. Two sold-out performances in front of more than 9,000 people<\/strong>, with Joyce El-Khoury<\/strong> making her role debut, under the direction ofEugene Kohn<\/strong>. Critics hail Volf's debut in opera directing; ConcertoNet notes that \u201cVolf\u2019s stage directions at El-Khoury were reminiscent of Visconti\u2019s with Callas at La Scala\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Callas restored \u2014 and a new film<\/h2>\n

At the end of 2023, Tom Volf completes Callas: Paris, 1958<\/em>, complete restoration in 4K and first colorization of the legendary recital given by Maria Callas at Palais Garnier<\/strong> on December 19, 1958, from the original reels found in 2021 in a cellar in Athens. Distributed by Piece of Magic Entertainment, the film is broadcast in more than 60 territories. Simultaneously, he completed the film adaptation of the show with Monica Bellucci, Maria Callas: Letters & Memoirs<\/em>.<\/p>\n

V\u00e9ronique<\/h2>\n

In March 2026 releases in theatres V\u00e9ronique<\/em>, intimate and cinematic portrait of V\u00e9ronique Sanson<\/strong>, co-production INA<\/strong> with France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/strong>. The film is broadcast on France 3 on April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Photography<\/h2>\n

Tom Volf is passionate about film photography Rolleiflex<\/strong> and Hasselblad<\/strong>. His portraits appear on the cover of the international press; he notably signed a series of portraits of Monica Bellucci in the role of Maria Callas. His exhibition On the Road from Tibet<\/em> (2010, Galerie Orenda in Paris) and his series Svalbard \u2014 a journey through the North Pole<\/em> (2009) were presented in Paris.<\/p>\n

Awards & distinctions<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Goddess Artemis Award<\/strong> \u2014 Euro-American Women\u2019s Council (EAWC), Athens, 2022<\/li>\n
  • Best Achievement in Cinematography Award<\/strong> \u2014 Better World Fund, Cannes, 2023<\/li>\n
  • Best Documentary Award<\/strong> (Music & Dance) \u2014 Master of Art Film Festival, 2018<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Public interventions<\/h2>\n

    Speaker at the Cin\u00e9math\u00e8que fran\u00e7aise<\/strong>, At TIFF<\/strong>, at theUNESCO<\/strong>, in Strasbourg and at the University of Turin. Member of the jury of the Vilnius International Film Festival. Facilitator of masterclasses (documentary, directing, photography).<\/p>\n

    Tom Volf lives and works in Paris.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Tom Volf est un auteur, r\u00e9alisateur, metteur en sc\u00e8ne, photographe, producteur et commissaire d’exposition fran\u00e7ais. N\u00e9 \u00e0 Saint-P\u00e9tersbourg, il grandit en France et fait ses \u00e9tudes aux \u00c9tats-Unis avant de revenir en France en 2015. Il est pr\u00e9sident du Fonds de Dotation Maria Callas qu’il a co-fond\u00e9 en 2017. Premiers pas \u2014 musique et sc\u00e8ne […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-182","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182"}],"version-history":[{"count":60,"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1594,"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/182\/revisions\/1594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomvolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}