Jitka Molavcová

Biography

Jitka Molavcová is one of the most distinct Czech theatre personalities, her activity encompassing an extraordinary wide area. Besides acting and singing, she also plays the guitar and saxophone, sings and recites in Latin, French, German and Gaelic, plays medieval musical instruments. Her great sense of and flair for comedic utterance is truly singular too. In addition to theatre, she also writes literature for children, her fairytales being part of the selection of The Most Beautiful Fairytales in History. Her theatre career started when she won the singing competition Talent 70. Since 1970 she has worked at the Semafor theatre, where she has created a host of characters as an irreplaceable partner to Jiří Suchý. Most noteworthy are the roles of Margarita and Mephisto in Dr. Johannes Faustus directed by Jiří Menzel (1982), Žofie Melicharová in Jonáš, dejme tomu v úterý (Jonas, Let’s Say on Tuesday, 1985), the four-role Temptation in Jiří Suchý’s play to music by Vladimír Franz Pokušení sv. Antonína (The Temptation of St. Anthony, 2001) directed by Petr Novotný. Furthermore, she has performed in the plays Jako když tiskne (Mincing Words, 2005) directed by Zdeněk Zelenka, Pension Rosamunda, Život je náhoda v obnošený vestě (Life is a Chance in aWorn-out Waistcoat) and many others. She has appeared many times on the stage of the Karlín Music Theatre in Prague. For her superb rendition of the main role in the musical Hello, Dolly! she was awarded the Thalia Prize 1996. She has worked for television, radio and film and has made more than one hundred gramophone records. In 1989 she won a prize for her performance in the film Jak je důležité míti Melicharovou (How Important It Is to Have Melicharová) and a year later she received the Vlasta Burian Prize for the best comedienne of the year. Jitka Molavcová has also prepared interesting projects primarily drawing from the cultural legacy of the Middle Ages. In the dramatic disputation of Jan of Žatec Oráč a smrt (Ploughman and Death), she excelled in the role of Death and was nominated for the Thalia Prize for this role. Music reviewers acclaimed her interpretation of the dramatic role of Ariadne in Jiří Antonín Benda’s play with musical accompaniment Ariadne auf Naxos. She has also won appreciation for her cooperation with the Janáček Quartet on the music/literary project Důvěrné listy Leoše Janáčka (Leoš Janáček’s Confidential Letters). She has performed at dozens of concerts in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.
Update: April 2007