Marie Collier

Who was Marie Collier?

Marie Collier was an Australian operatic soprano.

Marie Collier was born in Ballarat, Victoria. She attended Camberwell High School from 1941 to 1943. She first came to prominence in 1952 singing the role of Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana for the National Theatre Opera company in Melbourne. However she became a household name in Australia in 1953-54 performing Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul, 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. Subsequently she was offered a contract as a regular member of the Covent Garden Opera Company. She made her Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 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 at the Royal Opera House, and The Makropulos Case at Sadler's Wells.