Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'', opposite Anthony Warlow and later Rob Guest.

Early life

Prior was born in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

in the

Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...

, Australia, where her father was working in the shipping industry. Her parents were members of the local Gilbert and Sullivan Society. The family returned to Australia when she was a young child and she grew up in Melbourne, where she attended Syndal South Primary School and

Korowa Anglican Girls' School , motto_translation = No Reward Without Effort , established = 1890 , type = Independent, single-sex day school , denomination = Anglican , slogan = We can. We will. , ...

. She began to take singing lessons at the age of twelve and also learnt piano, flute and guitar. In 1982 Prior started studying for a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

degree at the Melbourne State College (which later became a faculty of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

). To raise money, she worked in coffee shops and tried busking. In September 1983 she auditioned for the

Victoria State Opera The Victoria State Opera (VSO), based in Melbourne, Australia, was founded in Melbourne in 1962. The company, founded by Leonard Spira, was a move into grand opera by the then amateur Gilbert and Sullivan-oriented Victorian Light Opera Co. The n ...

production of ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...

''. She was cast as "Mabel" and this started her career in musical theatre. Initially she had tried out for the chorus, she reflected "When they told me it was 'Mabel' I nearly fainted ... I could not believe it ... It was like a fairy tale". She deferred her studies due to performance and "touring commitments".

Theatre career

In 1984 Prior was "Guinevere" in the Australian production of ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

'' with

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

. In 1985, she performed the dual roles of "Jellylorum" and "Griddlebone" in the Australian premiere production of '' Cats''. In 1987, she appeared as "Josephine" opposite

Paul Eddington Paul Clark Eddington (18 June 1927 – 4 November 1995) was an English actor best known for playing Jerry Leadbetter in the television sitcom '' The Good Life'' (1975–78) and politician Jim Hacker in the sitcom '' Yes Minister'' (1980–84) ...

in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...

'', as "Kathy" in ''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play '' Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a score with some of Romberg's most enduri ...

'' at the

Lyric Opera Lyric may refer to: * Lyrics, the words, often in verse form, which are sung, usually to a melody, and constitute the semantic content of a song * Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view * Lyric, from t ...

in Brisbane and as "Hope Harcourt" in ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

''. This was followed by "Cosette" and the Australian premiere production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' in Melbourne and later, "Fantine" in te same musical in Sydney. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original " Christine Daaé" in the Australian premiere of ''

'', opposite Anthony Warlow and later Rob Guest. This was followed by roles in many major productions, including "Maria" in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'', "Lily" in ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in '' The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels an ...

'' (1995), "Magnolia" in ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' (1998) and the title role in ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

'' (1999). Other appearances include "Miss Adelaide" in ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'' (2000); the title role in '' Annie Get Your Gun'' (2004), both in staged concert versions with The Production Company; in 2003 in

John Misto John Misto (born 13 October 1952) is an Australian playwright and screenwriter. He graduated with an Arts/Law degree from the University of New South Wales, and then practised as a lawyer before changing his career to concentrate on working as a ...

's play ''Harp on the Willow'' ("Mary O'Hara") at the

Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales. History It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performa ...

, Sydney; as "Jane Smart" in ''

The Witches of Eastwick ''The Witches of Eastwick'' is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, '' The Widows of Eastwick'', was published in 2008. Plot The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s, follows the witc ...

'' (2002); and as "Belinda Blair" in ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...

'' (2003). Prior performed in the Australian premiere of ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

'' with the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

and later with the Sydney Theatre Company. She appeared as "Miss Adelaide" in ''Guys and Dolls'' at the

Princess Theatre, Melbourne The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1886 to a design by noted Melbourne architect William Pitt, it is the oldest surviving entertain ...

in March 2008 and with the Melbourne Theatre Company in ''

The Hypocrite ''The Hypocrite'' is a 1768 comic play by the Irish writer Isaac Bickerstaffe. It is a reworking of the 1717 play '' The Non-Juror'' by Colley Cibber, itself inspired by Molière's ''Tartuffe''. The original play had derived much of its humour f ...

'' in November 2008. She reprised her role in ''Guys and Dolls'' from March 2009 in Sydney. Prior toured Australasia in 1994 with José Carreras. She has performed concerts with many Australian symphony orchestras. She is a regular performer at Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight and regularly appears at ''Opera in the Alps'' with David Hobson. She also appeared with Hobson at ''Opera by the Lock'' in

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area h ...

, Victoria, in 2008. In 2011, Prior appeared as Mrs Banks in the Australian production of the musical ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

''. In 2012, she performed with David Hobson and James Morrison at the Leeuwin Estate Concert Series. Prior performed in the most recent Australian production of

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

as Baroness Schraeder. The production began its national tour in Sydney on 13 December 2015 and closed in Perth on 7 October 2016. From May 27 to 11 June 2017, Prior played the lead role of Dolly Levi in

The Production Company The Production Company was an Australian not-for-profit theatre company that staged a series of usually three musicals at the Arts Centre Melbourne each year, until its closure in 2020. It was launched in 1999 by Jeanne Pratt AC with the goal o ...

's production of '' Hello, Dolly!''. She then joined the Melbourne Theatre Company's production of '' Hay Fever'' from 23 September to 1 November 2017, starring as Judith Bliss. Following the closure of this production, it was announced that Prior will join the Melbourne cast of ''

Dream Lover "Dream Lover" is a song written by Bobby Darin. Darin recorded his composition on March 5, 1959 and released it as a single the following month. It was produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd. Song background In a ...

'' as the dual role of Polly Darin and Mary Douvan. She begins performing these roles from 27 December 2017.

Television and recordings

In the 1990s, Prior recorded three albums accompanied by the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

. ''

Leading Lady A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

'', '' Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber'' (which reached received an

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

nomination) and '' Somewhere – The Songs of Sondheim and Bernstein''. Prior was a judge on both the 2006 and 2007

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

reality television series '' It Takes Two''. In 2012, Prior released her fourth studio album, ''

Both Sides Now "Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album '' Clouds'', and became one ...

'', which peaked at number 42. This was followed by ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...

'' and '' Candlelight Christmas'' in 2013 and a live album in 2014 '' Marina Prior Live''. In 2015, Prior starred in the television opera ''

The Divorce The Divorce was a rock band from Seattle, Washington, originally composed of Shane Berry, lead vocals, keyboard, guitar and tambourine, (bass) and Kyle Risan, drums. History The band's first full-length release was ''There Will Be Blood Tonig ...

''. In April 2016, Prior released ''

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...

'' with

Mark Vincent Mark Vincent (born 4 September 1993) is an Australian tenor. Vincent won the third season of ''Australia's Got Talent'' in 2009 and signed with Sony Music Australia immediately after. As of 2018, Vincent has released seven studio albums and one ...

. This has become her first top 5 album on the ARIA Chart.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

Cast recordings

* '' Cats'' (1985) * ''

'' (1989) * ''

'' (1995) * ''

'' (2010) * ''

'' (original soundtrack) (2015)

Other

Prior was appointed 1996 Queen of

Moomba Moomba (also known as the Moomba Festival) is held annually in Melbourne, Australia. Run by the City of Melbourne, it is Australia's largest free community festival. The Melburnian tradition is celebrated over four days, incorporating the La ...

by the Melbourne festival's committee. Marina Prior has been the Goodwill Ambassador for

Samaritan's Purse Samaritan's Purse is an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of its Christian missionary work. The organization's president is Franklin Graham, son of Chri ...

Australia since 2005. In this capacity she has visited several development projects in Asia, including schools, water projects and distribution of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. In 2009 she featured in "A Short Film About Shoe Boxes" to promote Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child.

Awards and nominations

Prior has received numerous awards; these include three

Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

(''Les Miserables'' in 1990, ''The Phantom of the Opera'' in 1991, and ''Kiss Me, Kate'' in 2005) and in 1993 the Advance Australia Award for her contribution to the performing arts. Prior was inducted into Australia's 100 Entertainers of the Century.

Helpmann Awards

The

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. ! , - , 2003 , Marina Prior - ''The Witches of Eastwick'' ,

Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Musical The Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Musical is a musical award, presented by Live Performance Australia The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Liv ...

, , , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Marina Prior - ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' , Best Female Actor in a Musical , , , - , 2008 , Marina Prior - ''Guys and Dolls'' , Best Female Actor in a Musical , , , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, Marina Prior - ''Mary Poppins'' ,

Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical The Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical is a musical award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2001. This is a list of winners and nominations for the Helpmann Awa ...

, , , - , 2018 , Marina Prior - ''Dream Lover: The Bobby Darin Musical'' , Best Female Actor in a Musical , , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Marina Prior won three awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1990 , Marina Prior , Female Musical Theatre Performer of the Year , , - , 1994 , Marina Prior , Female Musical Theatre Performer of the Year , , - , 2008 , Marina Prior , Brian Stacey Female Musical Theatre Performer of the Year , , -

Personal life

From 1991 Marina Prior was married to Peter Lowrey, also a musical theatre actor: they have three children;"Marina Prior's roller-coaster year"
by Colin Vickery, ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

'' (21 December 2011) by 2012 she had married

Grant Piro Grant Piro is an Australian actor. He is best known as the host of the children's television show '' Couch Potato'' on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He also appeared as Captain Schnepel in Escape From Pretoria. Career He began his ca ...

, an actor."Stars shine for Annie premiere"
by Luke Dennely, ''

'' (27 May 2012) Prior became a devout Christian in the late 1990s, she has worked for charity organisations,

(on their Operation Christmas Child) and

Vision Australia Vision Australia is a not-for-profit organisation and Australia's largest provider of services for people with blindness and low vision. Background Vision Australia was created in 2004 through the merger of 4 smaller blindness organisations: t ...

's Carols by Candlelight.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prior, Marina 1963 births People from the National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) Actresses from Melbourne Australian musical theatre actresses Australian operatic sopranos University of Melbourne alumni Living people Singers from Melbourne