Ophelia Marie, also known as Ophelia Olivaccé-Marie"UWI Honours Ophelia Olivacce–Marie", The University of the West Indies Open Campus, 2012. (born 28 March 1951), is a popular singer of cadence-lypso from Dominica in the 1980s. She is sometimes referred to as "Dominica's Lady of Song", the "First Lady of Creole", and "la grande dame de la musique Antillaise".
Ophelia emerged and became Dominica's first Lypo female singer to achieve international star status. She is considered to be the "Godmother of Cadence", and has toured widely in France and had concerts broadcast over much of the Francophone world.
Her signature tune is "Aie Dominique", which was also her first recording, and became an iconic anthem for Dominicans. Ophelia's musical idol is the South African singer Miriam Makeba
Biography Born in Willemstad, Curaçao to Dominican parents,"OPHELIA: La Grande Dame of Creole Music celebrates 40 years in the music business", Dominica News Online, 24 April 2019."Ophelia Marie", Domnitjen, Volume 3, Issue 3. Ophelia grew to appreciate music from a very young age as a result of her father's musical prowess. At the age of 9 she moved to the village of Pointe Michel, Dominica, where she attended the St. Luke's Primary School. As a young girl, she was part of a group called the "Five O's", which performed at church functions.
Her husband and manager, McCarthy Marie, encouraged her to start her solo career. Her first recording was "Aie Dominique," a "lament for Dominica as the country underwent political problems in the 1970s". The song became a popular anthem among Dominicans, and she began recording with Gordon Henderson, placing herself at the forefront of cadence-lypso. Her debut recording album was the self-titled "Ophelia", which went on to sell 100,000 copies.
She has often sung about women's issues, a rarity at the time, and was among the first women to sing at the Théâtre Noir, Cirque d’Hiver and the Théâtre de la Renaissance. She was the first non-French winner of the Maracas d’Or Award from Société Pernod, and has been awarded International Women's Year in 1985, the Sisserou Award of Honour (the second highest award in Dominica), a Lifetime Award in 2005 and a Golden Drum Award in 1984. In 2005, Ophelia hosted the fifth Dynamith d'Or Caribbean Music Awards.Gordon Henderson, "Dominica's Lady Of Song Features in Paris Music Awards", The Dominican, Volume No. 1, Issue No. 73, 21 November 2005. She has inspired CHS's own Charmed Simplicity "BIG UP".
Education 1957–64St. Luke’s Primary School, Pointe Michel, Dominica1964–69Convent High School, Roseau, Dominica1972–75University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados DEGREES:1975BA (General), University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados1977Commonwealth Youth Programme Diploma in Advanced Youth Work, University of Guyana1984Certificate in Theory of Music, Grade IV, Kairi School of Music, Roseau, Dominica
Career 1975French Teacher, Dominica Grammar School, Roseau, Dominica (1975–76)1988Chief Cultural Officer, Cultural Division, Old Mill Cultural Centre, Canefield (1988–89)1993Coordinator ENCORE Project (1993–95)2001Deputy Director of Tourism, National Development Corporation, Roseau, Dominica (2001–06)
Works ALBUMS1979Ophelia1981Chanson d'Amour1982Live in Paris1983Emigration1986Trahison1990Love Vibrations1991Special1992Vengeance1994L'anmou, L'anmou1996Dominica Ahead1997Best of Ophelia2001Noel Oh2005Hypnotique SINGLE1980Gloria and Magnifcat VIDEO ALBUM1992Dominica Sweet
Awards YearAward1981Maracas d'Or award, Société Pernod, France1984Golden Drum award, Dominica1985Prominent Women's award, Dominica1986Award for Musical Fortitude, Sint Maarten1996FAME Lifetime Award, Dominica1998Most Outstanding Female Vocalist, FAME Awards, Dominica1999Sisserou Award of Honour, Dominica2003Award for Outstanding Contribution to Creole Music, Dominica Festival Committee, Dominica2005Lifetime Award, Cable and Wireless, Dominica2006Caribbean Cultural Icon award, CARIFESTA IX, Port of Spain, Trinidad
See also Music of Dominica
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