MARIE COLLIER (1927 – 1971)

Posted on: 2 July, 2020

Marie Collier (1927-1971) was a Ballarat-born opera soprano. She was born on 16 April 1927 to Thomas Robinson Collier, a railway employee, and Anne Marie (nee Bechaz). The family moved to Melbourne when she was seven years old. She attended Camberwell High School and then worked for a while as a pharmacist’s assistant.

Although her main interest as a child was science, she was a choir member at St. Johns Anglican Church, Camberwell and also took part in the Youth Operatic Society’s Gilbert and Sullivan productions. In the photo below, Marie performs in her last Gilbert and Sullivan show, playing the title role in a 1951 production of ‘Princess Ida’, presented at the Hawthorn Town Hall.

In 1948, she won a scholarship to the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and then trained with Gertrude Johnson of the National Theatre Movement. She started gaining recognition in 1952 when she played the role of Santuzza in the National Theatre’s production of ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’. She became more widely known in Australia in the years of 1953-54 as Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti’s ‘The Consul’. She performed the role 75 times in Sydney, Melbourne and regional areas and her teacher urged her to go to Europe to pursue broader opportunities.

In March 1955, assisted by a grant from Hawthorn City Council, Marie and her husband left for Milan to further her singing career. While there, she was offered a contract to join the Covent Garden Opera Company in London. She made her debut for the company in 1956 playing the role of The First Lady in Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

In the ensuing years Marie played many roles for Covent Garden and other opera companies and she was described as “a brilliant singing actress”. In 1965 she received a phone call from Covent Garden informing her that acclaimed soprano Maria Callas had withdrawn and they asked her to play the title role in a sold-out production of Verdi’s ‘Tosca’, which was due to open in two days. Despite reservations she accepted, the news spread quickly – would she come close to matching the famed performance of Callas? According to a newspaper report, ‘As ‘Tosca’ ended to thunderous applause, men and women jumped to their feet and threw buttonhole flowers on the stage and shouted “bravo” for 20 minutes’. The performance led to an invitation to sing at the prestigious La Scala opera house in Milan.

Marie Collier died suddenly in London on 8 December 1971 at the age of 44. She had been out for dinner with friends and when she returned home, she tragically fell from a window. The inquest found she had a high blood alcohol level and ruled her death an accident. She was survived by her husband Victor Vorwerg, a civil engineer, their daughter and three sons. Here is her obituary from The Canberra Times: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110693891

‘The Youth Operatic Society: Princess Ida’, photograph, 1951, Boroondara Libraries, 9671868.