Lawrence, Marjorie (1909-1979), was an Australian soprano who gained fame for her performances in the operas of the German composer Richard Wagner. In 1941, at the peak of her career, Lawrence contracted polio, which cost her the use of her legs. She continued her singing career in 1943 in specially staged productions, performing while seated in a wheelchair. She also gave many concerts after her illness.
Marjorie Florence Lawrence was born on Feb. 17, 1909, in Dean’s Marsh, Victoria, and went to Paris to study singing in 1928. She made her opera debut in Monte Carlo in 1932. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1935, singing there regularly until temporarily disabled by polio. She retired in 1952. After 1956, she taught in the United States. Her autobiography, Interrupted Melody (1949), was made into a motion picture in 1955 with the American actress Eleanor Parker playing Lawrence. Lawrence died on Jan. 13, 1979.
