Marshall, Lois (Catherine)
Marshall, Lois (Catherine)
Marshall, Lois (Catherine), prominent Canadian soprano, later mezzo-soprano; b. Toronto, Jan. 29, 1924; d. there, Feb. 19, 1997. She began her vocal training at age 12 with Weldon Kilburn, whom she married in 1968; also studied lieder interpretation with Emmy Heim (1947–50). She first gained notice as a soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Sir Ernest MacMillan and the Toronto Sym. Orch. (1947). In 1952 she made her operatic stage debut as the Queen of the Night in Toronto, won the Naumburg Award, and made her N.Y. recital debut. She appeared as a soloist in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with Toscanini and the NBC Sym. Orch. in 1953, and subsequently sang with many other important American orchs. She made her London debut in 1956 with Beecham and the Royal Phil., and began a series of world concert tours in 1960; began singing as a mezzo-soprano in the mid-1970s. Although she gave her official farewell performance at a Toronto concert on Dec. 10, 1982, she made occasional appearances in subsequent years. She was made a Companion of the Order of Canada (1968).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire