Rosita Serrano (born María Martha Esther Aldunate del Campo, 10 June 1912 – 6 April 1997) was a Chilean singer who had her biggest success in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

between the 1930s and the early 1940s. Because of her bell-like voice and pitch-perfect

whistling Whistling, without the use of an artificial whistle, is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. Th ...

she received the nickname ''Chilenische Nachtigall'' (Chilean Nightingale).

Life

Rosita Serrano was born in Quilpué,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

on 10 June 1912. Her father Héctor Aldunate was in the

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 obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. With her mother Sofía 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 Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. 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 arranged for her to get a record contract at the German

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...

. Thereafter she performed in the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

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 ''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ''Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel'' first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist ...

'' (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 Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

, she got gigs in the radio show ''Wunschkonzert für die Wehrmacht'' (musical request programme for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

). In 1940 she recorded the very popular song '' La Paloma'', heard throughout Germany. Her voice style was mainly operatic

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

with a deep, fast vibrato. She added frequent embellishments such as soaring arpeggiation and

melisma Melisma (, , ; from , plural: ''melismata''), informally known as a vocal run and sometimes interchanged with the term roulade, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in ...

. 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 (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

. She was a pitch-perfect whistler in the manner of

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

. The songs she recorded in German and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' in 1950, but little came of the publicity. In 1951, she went to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

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, her comeback attempt 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 (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

on 6 April 1997.

Legacy

Serrano's performance of ''La Paloma'' was used in the 1981 film ''

Das Boot (; ) is a 1981 West Germany, West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An Film adaptation, adaptation of Lothar-Günthe ...

'' by

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. His international breakthrough was the 1981 war film (1981), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Directo ...

, and in the 1993 production of the film ''The House of the Spirits'', after the novel by Chilean author Isabel Allende.

Selected filmography

* '' Dark Eyes'' (1951)

References

Biography
(German) * (Spanish)

(Spanish)

External links

Photographs at Virtual History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serrano, Rosita 1912 births 1997 deaths 20th-century women opera singers Chilean operatic sopranos Flamenco singers Spanish-language singers of Chile German-language singers of Chile Traditional pop music singers Whistlers Musicians from Viña del Mar Chilean expatriates in France Chilean expatriates in Germany Chilean expatriates in Portugal