Guide to the Papers of Marjorie Lawrence
MS 7225
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Marjorie Lawrence
- Title
- Papers of Marjorie Lawrence
- Date Range
- 1938-1968
- Collection Number
- MS 7225
- Extent
- 0.3 metres (2 boxes, 1 folio)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The papers received include programs, journal articles, publicity material and miscellaneous items. There is also background correspondence on the acquisition of the collection.
The programs are for concerts and operas in which Lawrence appeared as an artist, and also for performances of the Southern Illinois University Marjorie Lawrence Opera Theatre and students at the University of Arkansas. Journal articles are by or about Lawrence, and the publicity material includes a notebook of 'stories' suitable for use by the media. In the miscellaneous items is a copy of one of Lawrence's treasured items, a letter from Gian Carlo Menotti.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2607679).
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s).Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], MS 7225, National Library of Australia, Papers of Marjorie Lawrence, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Provenance
The papers were donated to the Library by the Manuscripts Section of the Southern Illinois University in 1981.
Related Materials
The papers documenting Marjorie Lawrence's career are held in the Morris Library of the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The papers date from 1926 to 1977 and comprise approximately 1.6 cubic metres. A listing of the papers is held in Series 5.
Following a request from the National Library in 1981, the University Library agreed to donate duplicate material from the collection to the Library. The duplicate material had been extracted from the collection when it was processed in the late 1970s.
Biographical Note
Marjorie Lawrence, dramatic soprano, was born at Dean's Marsh, Victoria, on 17 February 1907. After studying singing in Melbourne from 1926 to 1928 with Ivor Boustead, she left Australia for further studies in Paris. She made her operatic debut at Monte Carlo in Tannhauser in January 1932, at the Paris Opera the next year in Lohengrin, and at the Metropolitan Opera as Brunnhilde in Die Walkure in 1935. In 1939 Lawrence returned to Australia for a concert tour. The last of her four further visits was in 1976 for the season opening of the Sydney Opera House.
At the height of her career and shortly after marrying Dr Thomas King in 1941, Lawrence contracted polio. It was eighteen months before she made her first public re-appearance. She undertook tours to entertain troops in the South-West Pacific in 1944 and in occupied Europe in 1945 and 1948. Her autobiography, Interrupted melody, published in 1949, was made into a film in 1955.
Lawrence retired from public performances in 1952. She was Professor of Voice at Tulane, New Orleans (1957-60), and at Southern Illinois University (1960-73), where she was also the director of the Opera Workshop and opera productions. In 1974 she joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and also ran opera workshops at her home in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Lawrence was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1977. She died on 13 January 1979 at Little Rock, Arkansas.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Programs, 1938-72
The programs featuring Marjorie Lawrence as an artist date from 1938 to 1963. The earliest one is for a concert in Carnegie Hall when she sang in a duet from Die Walkure. The 1963 program is for the First Annual Patrons Banquet, presented by the Arkansas Orchestra Society. The second group of programs relating to the Southern Illinois University Opera Theatre and student performances date from 1961-72. Also included are three 1960 programs featuring Lawrence as a speaker.
For a detailed listing of the programs see Appendix 1.
Series 2. Journal articles, 1944-78
The journal articles, mostly about Lawrence, also include two written by her. In one of these, entitled '50,000 miles as the 'jeep' flies' (Tricolor, February 1945) Lawrence talks of her tours to entertain the troops. Journals include Salt, Pix, Coronet, Newsweek, Time and The Aarkansas Churchman. For a detailed listing of journal articles see Appendix 2.
Series 3. Miscellaneous items, 1947-73
Included in this series are eight orders-of-service for church services in which Lawrence or her students participated, a copy of the itinerary for the world tour of Lawrence and her husband, March-May 1966, and a copy of a letter from Gian Carlo Menotti, 8 January 1968. Lawrence treasured the letter from Menotti who praised her portrayal of Madame Flora in his opera The Medium. For a detailed listing of the miscellaneous items see Appendix 3.
Series 4. Publicity material, c.1939-77
Posters, handbills and brochures and other papers. There is also a press book of 16 'stories' on the life and career of Lawrence, suitable for use by the media. For a detailed listing of the publicity material see Appendix 4.
Series 5. Southern Illinois University, 1981
The correspondence is between Richard Stone of the National Library and Jane Lockram of the Morris Library, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Ms Lockram agreed to donate to the Library duplicate material from the Marjorie Lawrence Papers held at the University. A 1977 listing of the papers held at Southern Illinois University is also included.