Australian opera singer Marie Collier fell to her death early today (Wednesday) from her second-floor flat in London's Leicester Square. Miss Collier, who was 44, was married to a civil engineer and had four children.

At the time of her fall, Miss Collier was discussing the arrangements for a forthcoming engagement in Boston, with her financial advisor Mr. Henry Mathieu. At about midnight she leaned over a radiator to open a window - she apparently overbalanced and fell. (Police said foul play had been ruled out).

Ironically, the opera that brought her international fame, Puccini's Tosca, involves a heroine who dies in a fall. Miss Collier took over the part in 1965 when Maria Callas was ill and became a star overnight.

Miss Collier came to Britain in 1956 from Australia to join the Covent Garden company. Her last performance, again in Tosca, was at Johannesburg in August.

This film clip, from the BBC, shows her in two extracts from one of Puccini's best-loved arias "Vissi d'arte..." ("I lived for art, I lived for love").