Marjorie Lawrence and Elektra
Growing up on a dairy farm in Victoria, and often described as one of Australia’s most famous people, Marjorie Lawrence (1907-1979) was one of the greatest singers of her time.
On 2 May in 1951, she performed the title role of Elektra in its Australian premiere performance in Melbourne with the then Victorian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Goossens.
Lawrence is remembered today as the first soprano to perform the immolation scene in Götterdämmerung by riding her horse into the flames as Wagner had intended. This performance took place at the Metropolitan Opera.
Lawrence also lived with polio, which she first noticed during a performance in Mexico in 1941. She powered through this affliction and continued to perform on the stage.
Lawrence’s 1949 biography Interrupted Melody was adapted for the screen by MGM, and released in 1955. The film starred Eleanor Parker as Marjorie and documented her journey from the Bush to the world stage, and her trials living with polio.
Lawrence is well remembered for performing some of the great roles in the operatic repertoire, including Salome, Brunhilde, Carmen and Elektra.
Some of her personal effects and correspondence is housed in the Performing Arts Collection at Arts Centre Melbourne.
You can learn more about Marjorie in a new documentary, titled Marjorie Lawrence: The World at her Feet released last year.
By Evan Lawson