Maestro's 8 Biggest Changes To The True Story Of Leonard Bernstein & Felicia Montealegre

The Instant Connection

Bradley Cooper's Maestro presents a fairly accurate portrayal of the real-life relationship between Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre. Cooper had a very hands-on approach to directing the Leonard Bernstein biopic, which he also produced alongside Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and co-writer Josh Singer.

Carey Mulligan tying Bradley Cooper's tie in a black-and-white shot from Maestro

Through the generosity of the real-life Leonard Bernstein's family, Cooper gained access to hundreds of his personal letters and shot on location at several of the actual locations that made Leonard Bernstein famous, including Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and the Ely Cathedral in England.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein with his arm around Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre in Maestro

The Early Engagement

The early stages of the relationship between Leonard and Felicia are depicted to be an instant connection in Maestro, which is consistent with historical accounts. There are a number of smaller details regarding the timing and chronology of their courtship that are left out of the Netflix film, such as the fact that they had gotten engaged at a remarkably fast pace after they first met at a party. Leonard had a charm that acted as a gravitational pull towards many people, but Felicia was the only one that he never let go of.

The Early Engagement

The Impulsive Engagement

Maestro grazes over some of the roadblocks that Leonard and Felicia had at the beginning of their relationship, which ended with both of them opting out of their impulsive first engagement. While they still felt incredibly connected and drawn toward each other, they both decided before they were even engaged for a full year that neither of them wanted to get married at that point in their lives. They would later go on to continue seeing each other without the full commitment of the engagement.

Carey Mulligan as Felician in Maetro

Felicia's Previous Relationship

After Felicia and Leonard called off their first engagement, Felicia went on to date actor Richard Hart for five years. Richard Hart is briefly depicted in Maestro but the film does not explore the long relationship that Felicia had with him before he died in 1951. Felicia got back together with Leonard and married him that very same year. If Richard Hart hadn't died, there's the very real possibility that Felicia and Leonard never would have gotten married in the first place. Felicia does briefly mention Richard's death in Maestro during their Thanksgiving Day fight.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein wearing a white turtleneck and sweater in Maestro

Understanding Leonard's Sexuality

While Felicia has stated that she has always known about Leonard's homosexuality in Maestro, it appears that this truth was not as obvious to her in the film at first as it was in real life. Before Felicia and Leonard married in 1951, Felicia was fully aware that Leonard was a gay man, although Leonard himself never officially classified himself as being gay or even bisexual. In the film, Felicia appears to gradually understand this over time after their marriage rather than knowing about it from the jump, especially because in real life they had known each other for at least 6 years before they married.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and Matt Bomer as David Oppenheim in Maestro.

Struggle with Sexuality

One of the biggest omissions from the true life of Leonard Bernstein in Maestro was his deeply personal struggle with his sexual identity. It was widely considered an open secret that Leonard had an attraction to men, especially once rumors started circling back to his eldest daughter, Jamie. Leonard lied to his daughter when he addressed the rumors to her in real life and in Maestro. He would go so far as to seek the help of psychological experts in trying to 'cure' him of his homosexuality, an outdated notion that even Felicia viewed as a type of sickness that Leonard needed professional assistance with.

Orchestra in Maestro

Leonard's Affairs

Maestro mostly depicts Leonard Bernstein's frequent affairs with multiple men, primarily clarinet player David Oppenheimer (Matt Bomer) before his rise to stardom and Tommy Cothran (Gideon Glick), whom he lived with for some time in Los Angeles. Although Maestro makes it seem like Leonard's sexual escapades were mostly with men, Felicia was also well aware of his multiple affairs with women, which is attributed to Leonard's apparently insatiable appetite for connecting with all sorts of people. The film makes it clear, however, that Felicia was the only woman he had ever had deep feelings for, which appears to be true as well.

Leonard and Felicia in Maestro

Reunion at Ely Cathedral

The dramatic reunion between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre at the Ely Cathedral in England didn't happen the way it was depicted in Maestro. The scene truly did depict a six-minute magnificent performance that marks one of the highlights of Bernstein's career, as well as the film. However, the real-life performance of Mahler's 'Resurrection Symphony' occurred in 1973 while Leonard and Felicia were still together. The pair didn't separate until 1976, but the congruent theme of the performance also acting as a 'resurrection' of their marriage was too good for Cooper to pass up on in Maestro.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro

Brother Burton's Absence

While Maestro is intensely focused on the relationship that Leonard had with Felicia and their family life, particularly their three children, it leaves out a key figure in Leonard's family tree. Burton Bernstein is the younger brother of Leonard who is a prominent writer, having written for the New Yorker from 1957 to 1992. Burton Bernstein is also still alive today at 91 years old. It's unclear whether he played any part in the development of Maestro, as Leonard's daughter Jamie did with her 2018 memoir Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein. A great number of personal details from Jamie Bernstein's book were used as inspiration for Bradley Cooper's film, which is why it has achieved such a level of authenticity in both the real-life achievements and emotional hardships of Leonard Bernstein.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein conducting in Maestro