Opera Scotland

Marion Lowe Suggest updates

Molly Wilkinson, born Manchester, 12 September 1921.

Died Wexham, Bucks, 14 February 2006.

English soprano.

Marion Lowe began her career in the chorus at Sadler's Wells, and made her debut as a soloist in 1947 as Marguerite in a new production of Faust directed by Dennis Arundell.

Lowe was noted as a Mozart singer, particularly as Fiordiligi (with Peter Pears and Anna Pollak in the cast) and as Countess Almaviva (with Anna Pollak again, as Cherubino, and the Australian soprano Elsie Morison as Susanna).

In 1950 she took the part of Felicia in a charming, but nowadays little known comic opera by Wolf-Ferrari, I quattro rusteghi, generally translated as The School for Fathers, which opened in 1950.  One of her most serious roles came in 1952, when Sadler's Wells mounted what was then a rare production of Massenet's Werther, directed by Dennis Arundell. Her interpretation of Charlotte was highly praised at the time.

Lowe had a hugely successful role in the 1958 Charles Hickman staging of The Merry Widow, which was conducted by Alexander Gibson. With June Bronhill as Hanna, Thomas Round as Danilo, William McAlpine as Camille and Howell Glynne as Zeta, Marion Lowe was in her element as Valencienne. The production had a long west end run (at the Coliseum) and was toured extensively, and she also sang the title role later in the run.

A recording of excerpts was also made (though by then Gibson had moved to Scotland).