Smith was born February 1952 in
Surrey. Her graduating performance was praised by one critic: a "quite exceptional
Pamina was contributed by Marilyn Hill Smith – the registers of the voice much more firmly knitted together than usual in student sopranos, the expression apt, the diction and movement decisive." She was selected in 1975 as "an outstanding Young Musician", and the following year took part in the first performance of the
Bicentennial Offenbach pastiche Christopher Columbus, a recording of which was subsequently released. Her professional debut was with
English National Opera at the
London Coliseum as Adele in
Die Fledermaus in 1978.), Despina in
Così fan tutte, Blonde in
Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Susanna in
Le Nozze Di Figaro, Olympia, Stella, and one of the voices in the Barcarolle in
The Tales of Hoffmann, Zerbinetta in
Ariadne auf Naxos, Fiakermilli in
Arabella, and in the British premiere of
Le Grand Macabre in 1982 she sang Venus and the Chief of the Secret Police. She appeared with the
English Bach Festival in
La princesse de Navarre and in April 1976 she sang the title role in
Pygmalion by Rameau and one of the lovers in ''L'Amour flechy par la Constance
of 1697 by Delalande in Whitehall Palace. She had also sung Aricie in Hippolyte et Aricie, Almirena in Rinaldo, Télaire in Castor et Pollux, and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas for the Festival. In the Handel tercentenary year she appeared as Agilea in Teseo'' in July 1985 at Covent Garden, and the following month at the
Herodes Atticus Theatre in Greece. At
Sadler's Wells Theatre she appeared in 1984 as Lady Harriet in
Martha by Flotow, and in 1985 as Sylva in Kálmán's
The Gypsy Princess. In
Jonathan Miller’s 1988 production of
Candide with
Scottish Opera in Glasgow and then at
The Old Vic in London she took the role of Cunegonde, which was televised from Glasgow. She appeared in '
Glamorous Night' in the 1990
Royal Variety Performance on the occasion of the
Queen Mother's 90th birthday at the
London Palladium. She appeared with
Welsh National Opera (Musetta and Konstanze), For the 1989 BBC radio series of
Savoy operas, Hill Smith sang Lady Ella (
Patience), Phyllis (
Iolanthe), Casilda (
The Gondoliers) and Julia Jellicoe (
The Grand Duke). Hill Smith toured the United Kingdom in the
Andrew Lloyd Webber/
David Ian production of
The Sound of Music as Mother Abbess, in 2009 to 2010, and performed in "We’ll Meet Again" more than 100 times. In 2013 she played Heidi Schiller in Sondheim's
Follies at the
Opéra de Toulon. ==Selected discography==