Lois Catherine Marshall,
CC (January 29, 1924 – February 19, 1997) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
. Her husband, Weldon Kilburn, had been her early coach and piano accompanist.
Early life and studies; awards
Born in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Marshall "began voice studies at age 12 with Weldon Kilburn (at the
Royal Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edward ...
in Toronto), her accompanist and coach until 1971 and to whom she was eventually married in 1968." Lois Marshall was a graduate of the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. In 1968, Marshall was invested as a Companion of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
but was, over her long career, the recipient of many other honours and awards, such as the University of Alberta National Award in Music (1962), the Centennial Medal (1967), a Canada Music Council Medal (1972), the Ontario Arts Council Medal of Excellence (1973), the Molson Prize (1980), the Toronto Arts Award for music (1987), a
Governor General's Performing Arts Award
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (1993) and the Order of Ontario (1993). She held honorary degrees from the Universities of Toronto and Regina, and the Royal Conservatory made her an honorary fellow in 1994.
Career
She enjoyed a long career, primarily as a concert and recital singer, first as a soprano and later as a mezzo-soprano. She recorded extensively and in a very wide repertoire. Especially prized are the live recordings, which provide something of the vitality and warmth she radiated on those occasions. The lifelong effects of childhood
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
severely limited her mobility, especially in later years. Nevertheless, she appeared occasionally on opera stages and in televised opera, including Boston productions especially staged for her by
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell (March 6, 1924March 23, 2006) was an American opera conducting, conductor, impresario, and stage director.
Early life
Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and ...
. Her final performances in opera were as the old nurse in ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by Ale ...
'', in both Ottawa and Toronto. Early fame came with appearances and recordings with Toscanini and Beecham. For many years, she toured as the soprano soloist in the Bach Aria Group, and sang in annual Toronto performances of Messiah and St. Matthew Passion under Sir
Ernest MacMillan
Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, (August 18, 1893 – May 6, 1973) was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from the ...
and successive conductors of the
Toronto Symphony
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
.
Partial discography
Dates in parentheses are the dates of recording.
* ''Arias'', CBC PSCD 2001 (1956–1959).
* Bach, Johann Sebastian. ''Cantata 51'' and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ''Exsultate Jubilate'', Toronto Symphony, MacMillan (cond.), Hallmark, CS2 (1953/1954).
* Bach, Johann Sebastian. ''Mass in B Minor'', Redel (cond.) Philips 438 739-2.
* Handel, George Frederick. ''Messiah'', Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, MacMillan (cond.), Beaver Records, LPS 001 (1952).
* Bach, Johann Sebastian. ''St. Matthew Passion'', Toronto Symphony, MacMillan (cond.), Beaver Records, LPS 002 (1953).
* Beethoven, Ludwig van. ''Missa Solemnis'', NBC Symphony, Toscanini (cond.), RCA (1953).
* ''Celebrity Recital, Lois Marshall'', Radio Canada International RCI 427 (1974).
* Elwell, Herbert. ''Pastorale'', Toronto Symphony, MacMillan (cond.), Hallmark, CS1 (1953).
* ''Folksongs of the British Isles'', Marquis MAR 102 (1983).
* Handel, George Frideric. ''Messiah'', Toronto Symphony, MacMillan (cond.), Beaver Records, LPS 001 (1952).
* Handel, George Frideric. ''Solomon'', Royal Philharmonic, Beecham (cond.),
MI(1955–1956).
* Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', Royal Philharmonic, Beecham (cond.), EMI (1957).
* Schubert, Franz. ''Die schöne Müllerin'', CBC PSCD 2010 (1976).
* Schubert, Franz. ''Winterreise'', CBC PSCD 2011 (1979).
* Schumann, Robert. ''A Schumann Recital'', CBC (1978).
* Strauss, Richard. ''Vier letzte Lieder'', Sony SM2K 526674.
* Strauss, Richard. "Ophelia Lieder Nos. 1-3" CBC (1962-1963), Richard Strauss - A Personal View, by Glenn Gould
[Glenn Gould on Television, The Complete CBC Broadcasts 1954-1977, Vol. 3]
Much of Lois Marshall's recorded legacy is held in the archives of the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
. Little of it, however, has been released.
Notes
External links
Order of Canada CitationArkivMusic biography and current discography Lois Marshall oral history interviewheld at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Lois
1924 births
1997 deaths
Canadian operatic sopranos
Companions of the Order of Canada
Members of the Order of Ontario
Musicians from Toronto
University of Toronto alumni
Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music
20th-century Canadian women opera singers
Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners
20th-century musicologists