Marie Collier was born in Ballarat, Victoria, to Thomas Robinson Collier (1894–1962), a railway employee, and his wife Annie Marie (née Bechaz).[1] She attended Camberwell High School from 1941 to 1943.[1][2] Due to an injured wrist, she gave up the piano and began training as a singer.[1] She first came to prominence in March 1952 singing the role of Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana for the National Theatre Opera company in Melbourne.[1] On 10 December 1952 she married Victor Benjamin Vorwerg, a civil engineer.[1] Collier became more widely known in Australia during 1953–54 while performing Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul,[1] for a total of seventy-five performances in Melbourne, Sydney and regional areas.
Other roles at Covent Garden in subsequent seasons included Musetta in La bohème; Giulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann; Liu in Turandot; Flora in La traviata; Butterfly in Madama Butterfly; and the title role in the 1963 production of Tosca. In May 1960 her role of Musetta was described by Evan Senior as "the most astonishing and effective playing and full-voiced singing of the role I have ever heard or seen".[1]
She is probably best known as being the substitute Tosca in Covent Garden's famous 1965 revival of the 1964 Franco Zeffirelli production of the opera. When Maria Callas cancelled her appearances in three out of the four scheduled performances, Collier stepped in, to great acclaim.[5]
In 1967, she created the role of Christine Mannon in the world premiere of Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra at the Metropolitan Opera, in which Evelyn Lear and Sherrill Milnes also sang.[6] Her other roles with the Met included Musetta,[7] Tosca (on tour to Cleveland, Ohio),[8] and Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana.[9]
In 1968, she participated in the first opera telecast in Australia (Tosca, with Donald Smith as Cavaradossi and Tito Gobbi as Scarpia).[10]
She died in London aged 44, in an accident in which she fell to her death from an open window.[1][1] This occurred shortly after she had been chosen to sing the part of Cassandra in Berlioz's opera Les Troyens at Covent Garden.
marie, collier, marie, elizabeth, collier, april, 1927, december, 1971, australian, operatic, soprano, born, 1927, april, 1927ballarat, victoria, australiadied8, december, 1971, 1971, aged, london, englandoccupationoperatic, sopranoyears, active1952, 1971, bor. Marie Elizabeth Collier 16 April 1927 8 December 1971 was an Australian operatic soprano 1 Marie CollierBorn 1927 04 16 16 April 1927Ballarat Victoria AustraliaDied8 December 1971 1971 12 08 aged 44 London EnglandOccupationOperatic sopranoYears active1952 1971 Marie Collier was born in Ballarat Victoria to Thomas Robinson Collier 1894 1962 a railway employee and his wife Annie Marie nee Bechaz 1 She attended Camberwell High School from 1941 to 1943 1 2 Due to an injured wrist she gave up the piano and began training as a singer 1 She first came to prominence in March 1952 singing the role of Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana for the National Theatre Opera company in Melbourne 1 On 10 December 1952 she married Victor Benjamin Vorwerg a civil engineer 1 Collier became more widely known in Australia during 1953 54 while performing Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti s The Consul 1 for a total of seventy five performances in Melbourne Sydney and regional areas Collier studied in Milan in 1955 where she was auditioned by Lord Harewood 1 Subsequently she was offered a contract as a regular member of the Covent Garden Opera Company There she made her Royal Opera House debut as the First Lady in The Magic Flute in 1956 She created the role of Hecuba in Michael Tippett s King Priam which premiered in Coventry in May 1962 and sang the leading roles in the Western premieres of Katerina Ismailova 2 December 1963 at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden 3 and The Makropulos Case at Sadler s Wells 12 February 1964 4 Other roles at Covent Garden in subsequent seasons included Musetta in La boheme Giulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann Liu in Turandot Flora in La traviata Butterfly in Madama Butterfly and the title role in the 1963 production of Tosca In May 1960 her role of Musetta was described by Evan Senior as the most astonishing and effective playing and full voiced singing of the role I have ever heard or seen 1 She is probably best known as being the substitute Tosca in Covent Garden s famous 1965 revival of the 1964 Franco Zeffirelli production of the opera When Maria Callas cancelled her appearances in three out of the four scheduled performances Collier stepped in to great acclaim 5 In 1967 she created the role of Christine Mannon in the world premiere of Marvin David Levy s Mourning Becomes Electra at the Metropolitan Opera in which Evelyn Lear and Sherrill Milnes also sang 6 Her other roles with the Met included Musetta 7 Tosca on tour to Cleveland Ohio 8 and Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana 9 In 1968 she participated in the first opera telecast in Australia Tosca with Donald Smith as Cavaradossi and Tito Gobbi as Scarpia 10 She was also noted as Chrysothemis in Sir Georg Solti s acclaimed recording of Richard Strauss s Elektra with Birgit Nilsson in the title role 11 She died in London aged 44 in an accident in which she fell to her death from an open window 1 1 This occurred shortly after she had been chosen to sing the part of Cassandra in Berlioz s opera Les Troyens at Covent Garden References edit a b c d e f g h i j k Radic Therese 1993 Collier Marie Elizabeth 1927 1971 Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 13 National Centre of Biography Australian National University ISSN 1833 7538 Retrieved 27 July 2021 Marie Collier www chessmoves com Archived from the original on 7 January 2012 The Musical Times vol 104 no 1450 December 1963 p 878 full citation needed The Musical Times vol 105 no 1451 January 1964 p 78 full citation needed How we made Franco Zeffirelli and John Tooley on Tosca 1964 by Anna Timms The Guardian 24 July 2012 Restoring Luster to a Dark Melodrama by Anthony Tommasini The New York Times 13 October 1998 La boheme 22 March 1967 Met performance database Tosca 29 April 1970 Met performance database Cavalleria rusticana 17 April 1970 Met performance database LISTSERV 15 5 OPERA L Archives Archived from the original on 25 July 2011 Retrieved 18 December 2016 Richard Strauss Elektra via Amazon External links edit Marie Collier in Tosca 1963 picture at National Library of Australia Kemmis Kim Leslie 1 July 2017 Marie Collier a life PDF The University of Sydney Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marie Collier amp oldid 1220044524, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
