Rosita Serrano
Encyclopedia
Rosita Serrano was a Chilean singer who had her biggest success in Nazi Germany
between the 1930s and the early 1940s. Because of her bell-like voice and pitch-perfect whistling
she received the nickname Chilenische Nachtigall (Chilean Nightingale).
Rosita Serano was born in Viña del Mar
, Chile
on 10 June 1914. Her father Héctor Aldunate was in the diplomatic service
. With her mother Sofia del Campo who was a popular opera singer she moved to Europe in the early 1930s. Initially they lived in Portugal and France but by 1936 they moved to Berlin. Serrano had her first successes in the Wintergarten
and the Metropol Theater where she performed Chilean folk songs. During that time she was discovered by German composer Peter Kreuder who managed that she got a record contract at the German Telefunken. Henceforth she performed in the German language
including popular songs like Roter Mohn (Red poppy), Schön die Musik (Beautiful Music), Küß mich, bitte, bitte, küß mich (Kiss me, please, please kiss me), Und die Musik spielt dazu (And the Music plays to it), Der Onkel Jonathan (The uncle Jonathan), and Der kleine Liebesvogel (The little love bird). By 1938 she received roles in the revue films Es leuchten die Sterne (1938), Bel Ami (1939), Der vierte kommt nicht (1939), Die kluge Schwiegermutter (1939), Herzensfreud – Herzensleid (1940) and Anita und der Teufel (1941). Her appearance in Herzensfreud – Herzensleid was in a co-starring role with actor Paul Hoerbiger. Between film shoots, she went on tour with two popular dance orchestras, one led by Kurt Hohenberger and the other by Teddy Stauffer
. Due to the intercession of Joseph Goebbels
, she got gigs in the radio show Wunschkonzert für die Wehrmacht (musical request programme for the Wehrmacht
). In 1940 she recorded the very popular song La Paloma
, heard throughout Germany.
Her voice style was mainly operatic coloratura soprano
with a deep, fast vibrato. She added frequent embellishments such as soaring arpeggiation and melisma
. Some songs were recorded with a few words whispered or spoken, and she occasionally emphasized words with a gritty, growling jazz style reminiscent of African-American blues singer Ethel Waters
. She was a pitch-perfect whistler in the manner of Bing Crosby
. The songs she recorded in German and Spanish
varied from folk to pop
, including flamenco, rumba, tango and mambo.
In 1943 while on tour in Sweden, Serrano was accused by Germany of being a spy—she had donated a benefit performance to Jewish refugees. Rather than returning to Germany to be arrested, she traveled to Chile. Her songs were subsequently banned in Nazi Germany. Serrano attempted a tour in the United States, but her German repertoire was not popular. She appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show
in 1950, but little came of the publicity. In 1951, she went to West Germany
to take part in the film Schwarze Augen (Dark Eyes), in which she played a Cuban singer, and the next year she sang in the film Saison in Salzburg. Beyond these appearances, she saw little success in Germany, ending with a poorly received tour with Kurt Hohenberger in 1957.
In her native Chile, where she spent the last years of her life, the public never forgave her for performing in Nazi Germany. She died in poverty in Santiago
on 6 April 1997.
by Wolfgang Petersen
, and in the 1993 production of the film The House of the Spirits
, after the novel by Chilean author Isabel Allende
.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
between the 1930s and the early 1940s. Because of her bell-like voice and pitch-perfect whistling
Whistling
Human whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole...
she received the nickname Chilenische Nachtigall (Chilean Nightingale).
Rosita Serano was born in Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
on 10 June 1914. Her father Héctor Aldunate was in the diplomatic service
Diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel enjoy diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to other countries...
. With her mother Sofia del Campo who was a popular opera singer she moved to Europe in the early 1930s. Initially they lived in Portugal and France but by 1936 they moved to Berlin. Serrano had her first successes in the Wintergarten
Berlin Wintergarten theatre
The Berlin Wintergarten theatre was a large variety theatre in Berlin that opened in approximately 1887 and was destroyed by bombs in June 1944. The name was eventually taken on by a theatre in Potsdamer Strasse in 1992....
and the Metropol Theater where she performed Chilean folk songs. During that time she was discovered by German composer Peter Kreuder who managed that she got a record contract at the German Telefunken. Henceforth she performed in the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
including popular songs like Roter Mohn (Red poppy), Schön die Musik (Beautiful Music), Küß mich, bitte, bitte, küß mich (Kiss me, please, please kiss me), Und die Musik spielt dazu (And the Music plays to it), Der Onkel Jonathan (The uncle Jonathan), and Der kleine Liebesvogel (The little love bird). By 1938 she received roles in the revue films Es leuchten die Sterne (1938), Bel Ami (1939), Der vierte kommt nicht (1939), Die kluge Schwiegermutter (1939), Herzensfreud – Herzensleid (1940) and Anita und der Teufel (1941). Her appearance in Herzensfreud – Herzensleid was in a co-starring role with actor Paul Hoerbiger. Between film shoots, she went on tour with two popular dance orchestras, one led by Kurt Hohenberger and the other by Teddy Stauffer
Teddy Stauffer
Ernst Heinrich "Teddy" Stauffer was a Swiss bandleader, musician, actor, nightclub owner, and restaurateur. He was dubbed Germany's "swing-king" of the 1930s.-Early life and career:...
. Due to the intercession of Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, she got gigs in the radio show Wunschkonzert für die Wehrmacht (musical request programme for the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
). In 1940 she recorded the very popular song La Paloma
La Paloma
This article is about the song. For the American city, see La Paloma, Texas."La Paloma" is a popular song, having been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by Spanish composer Sebastián...
, heard throughout Germany.
Her voice style was mainly operatic coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
with a deep, fast vibrato. She added frequent embellishments such as soaring arpeggiation and melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
. Some songs were recorded with a few words whispered or spoken, and she occasionally emphasized words with a gritty, growling jazz style reminiscent of African-American blues singer Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
. She was a pitch-perfect whistler in the manner of Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
. The songs she recorded in German and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
varied from folk to pop
Traditional pop music
Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
, including flamenco, rumba, tango and mambo.
In 1943 while on tour in Sweden, Serrano was accused by Germany of being a spy—she had donated a benefit performance to Jewish refugees. Rather than returning to Germany to be arrested, she traveled to Chile. Her songs were subsequently banned in Nazi Germany. Serrano attempted a tour in the United States, but her German repertoire was not popular. She appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
in 1950, but little came of the publicity. In 1951, she went to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to take part in the film Schwarze Augen (Dark Eyes), in which she played a Cuban singer, and the next year she sang in the film Saison in Salzburg. Beyond these appearances, she saw little success in Germany, ending with a poorly received tour with Kurt Hohenberger in 1957.
In her native Chile, where she spent the last years of her life, the public never forgave her for performing in Nazi Germany. She died in poverty in Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
on 6 April 1997.
Legacy
Serrano's performance of La Paloma was used in the 1981 film Das BootDas Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...
by Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen is a German film director and screenwriter. His films include The NeverEnding Story, Enemy Mine, Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm, Troy, and Poseidon...
, and in the 1993 production of the film The House of the Spirits
The House of the Spirits (film)
The House of the Spirits is a 1993 German-Danish-Portuguese dramatic film starring Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder and Antonio Banderas. The supporting cast includes Vanessa Redgrave, María Conchita Alonso, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Jan Niklas...
, after the novel by Chilean author Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean writer with American citizenship. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts , which have been commercially successful...
.