Olivia Molina
Born on 3. January 1946 in Copenhagen, grew up in Mexico. Her mother was a German dancer, born in Flensburg, her father a musician and bandleader, born in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Olivia Molina commences her career as a singer in Acapulco, Mexico, when she was 14. When still at school, she scored her earliest successes in hits by Paul Anka, Ricky Nelson and Brenda Lee. Olivia Molina sang in clubs and hotels, and was awarded her first recording contract by the Peerless record company in Mexico City when still a teenager.
SOME CAREER MILESTONES
1965 Olivia Molina tops the Mexican hit parade with the song "Juego de Palabras". She wins the Mexican Jazz Festival, a regular annual event in Mexico City. Emigrates to Germany.
1967 The Mexican consul-general in Hamburg presents Olivia Molina with the "Bronze Horse", the coveted Mexican radio award.
1968 Olivia Molina becomes a member of the "First German Women's Cabaret" at Stuttgart's Renitenz-Theater.
1969 Tour with the "First German Women's Cabaret" to Vienna, Zurich, Berne, Lucerne and at the "Stachelschweine" in Berlin.
1970 At the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, she plays the widow in the first German-language performance of John Kander and Joseph Stein's musical "Sorbas". Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) produces the 60-minute personality show "Olivia and an Orchestra".
1971 Olivia Molina is the guest star in Austrian TV's production of "Lodynski's Flohmarkt Company", winner of the "Golden Rose" at Montreux.
1972 She appears in the role of Bianca in Helmut Käutner"s production of Cole Porter and Günter Neumann's musical "Kiss me Kate". Professor Ulrich Erfurth engages Olivia Molina as Spelunken-Jenny for the Bad Hersfeld Festival production of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's "Threepenny Opera".
1973 Olivia Molina wins the German Schlager (Hit) Competition in Berlin with "Das Lied".
1974 Olivia Molina sings the TV Lottery theme song: "Der Weg zum Glück ist frei". At the Bad Hersfeld Festival she appears alongside Herbert Fleischmann and Uwe Friedrichsen as Laina the cook in Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's "Herr Puntila and sein Knecht Matti".
1976 Olivia Molina tours Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland in Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's opera "Mahagonny". André Heller writes the lyrics for chansons for her new LP "All meine Jahreszeiten". José Feliciano attends studio recording sessions as a guest. West German Radio (WDR) produces the TV show "All meine Jahreszeiten" with Olivia Molina.
1977 With Tony Osborne as band leader and 30 musicians from the United Kingdom, Olivia Molina does a major tour of Germany and Switzerland. The jury of the Deutsche Phono-Akademie elects her "Female artist of the year".
1979 Along with Martha Mödl, Olivia Molina sings the part of Jenny in the long version of "Mahagonny" for the Schleswig-Holsteinisches-Landestheater. During the International May Festival in Wiesbaden she gives the concert "Kurt Weill in America" at the Opera House. The programme is presented by Professor Rolf Liebermann and recorded for the ARD First German TV channel.
1980 For her interpretations of songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Olivia Molina receives First Prize in the world"s only radio awards, at the Nordring Festival in Helsinki. First performance of the mass "Misa Latinoamericana", her own composition, marks the start of Olivia Molina's first grand Christmas tour entitled "Christmas Songs from Latin America".
1981 ARD First German TV records the Christmas concert broadcast in Germany and Austria on Christmas Eve.
1983 Olivia Molina is awarded the "Golden Admission Ticket" for her annual Christmas tour, since the concert had been heard by 100.000 visitors.
1984 Olivia Molina introduces evergreens from North and Latin America in a 90-minute concert for the ARD television channel from the Alte Oper, Frankfurt. Founding of Edicion Indoamerica GmbH, Musicproduction and Edition.
1985 Premiere at the Stadttheater Oberhausen of the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, with Olivia Molina taking the role of Mary Magdalene.
1986 Olivia Molina is engaged by the Stadttheater Oberhausen, on this occasion for the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical "Evita".
1987 Founding of the "Patenschaft Kinder Latin Americas - Olivia Molina e.V.", an organization for promoting sponsorships for children in Latin America, based in Bonn, with Olivia Molina as president.
1988 Olivia Molina compiles the programme "Songs and poetry from Latin America" for WDR and this is simultaneously recorded live as a CD. First "El Tango Argentino" tour, in which Olivia Molina presents the tango in song form in Germany for the first time.
1990 Tenth anniversary of traditional Christmas tour.
1991 The Schleswig-Holstein Landestheater engages Olivia Molina for the part of Iduna in the musical comedy "The Firework" by Paul Burkhard, Erik Charell and Jürg Amstein. Olivia Molina"s reunion with the Bad Hersfeld Festival as Spelunken-Jenny in Peter Lotschak"s production of "Threepenny Opera".
1996 Olivia Molina sings at the celebrations of Greenpeace's 25th anniver-sary at the Konzerthaus, Vienna.
1997 Tenth anniversary of founding of "Patenschaft Kinder Lateinamerikas - Olivia Molina e.V.".
1999 Olivia Molina sings Mexican boleros at the "Boleros de Oro" Festival organized every year in Havana by the Union de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC). At the Stadttheater in Schleswig she marks her return to jazz with a concert entitled "Welcome back to Jazz - Olivia Molina" featuring Blues, Swing and venerable American evergreens. Release of the Spanish-language CD "Porque te amo" along with the CD "Las Posadas" (Christmas Songs from Latin America). Traditional Christmas tour 1999.
2000 20 years - Christmas songs from Latin America and the „Misa Latinoamericana“. This is a reason for Olivia Molina to celebrate with her ensemble. Balance of the past 20 years: 600 concerts, 500.000 visitors, 136 children have been singing together with Olivia Molina. 150 Christmas songs have been carefully collected, adapted and arranged. Altogether 17 projects in favour of children in Central and South America could be supported.
2001 Publication of the CD "Olivia Molina - Jazz Jazz Jazz", concerts during the Summer Jazz Festivals in Wiehl, Hildesheim and at the Palatia Jazz Performance on the Madenburg. With a new concept Olivia Molina presents her "Christmas Gala 2001". The repertoire includes Christmas songs from Spain and different countries of Central and South America. She is accompanied by five excellent musicians playing piano, contra-bass, violin, flute and cello under the direction of Heribert Kroll.
2002 Christmas tour - under the title "Christmas Gala" Olivia Molina sings Christmas songs from Latin America. Just in time before starting the tour the CDs "La Jornada" and "Navidad en mi Tierra" are being published, which contribute to complete the collection of Christmas songs from Latin America.
2003 Christmas gala 2003 - Olivia Molina starts again her Christmas tour with 18 concerts in the Federal Republic of Germany. This year the association "Patenschaft Kinder Lateinamerikas - Olivia Molina e. V." celebrates its 15th anniversary with a festive concert in the "Kreuzkirche" in Bonn.
2004 Christmas gala 2004 - Olivia Molina starts again her Christmas tour with 19 concerts in the Federal Republic of Germany.
2005 Christmas gala 2005 - just in time before starting her Christmas tour with 19 concerts in the Federal Republic of Germany, publication of the CDs "Christmas gala Olivia Molina" and "Libertad" (Folklore from Latin America).
2007 Christmas gala 2007 - with 19 concerts in the Federal Republic of Germany, 20 years anniversary of the organization "Patenschaft Kinder Lateinamerikas - Olivia Molina e. V.", 25th Christmas tour in the period from 1980 - 2007.
2009 Christmas gala 2009 - Olivia Molina starts again her Christmas tour in the Federal Republic of Germany.
2011 Olivia Molina celebrates her 50th stage anniversary performing her traditional tour "Olivia Molina - Christmas gala". Publication of a songbook with 20 Christmas carols from Latin America for piano and singing.