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

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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. The a ...

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

Life

Rosita Serano was born in

Quilpué Quilpué is a city and capital of the Marga Marga Province in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is part of the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area. It is widely known as "City of the Sun" (''Ciudad del Sol'') and the urban part of it also ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

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 obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

. 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 and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. 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 Peter Paul Kreuder (18 August 1905 – 28 June 1981) was a German-Austrian pianist, composer and conductor. Life Kreuder was born in Aachen, the son of a ''Kammersänger''. He enrolled as a piano student at the Cologne Conservatory in 1910, where ...

who managed that she got a record contract at the German

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company'). The name "Telefunken" app ...

. Henceforth she performed in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

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 ''The Stars Shine'' (german: Es leuchten die Sterne) is a 1938 German musical revue directed by Hans H. Zerlett and written by Zerlett and Hans Hannes. Synopsis A young secretary leaves the country and travels to Berlin to seek work as an actr ...

'' (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 Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

. Between film shoots, she went on tour with two popular dance orchestras, one led by Kurt Hohenberger and the other by

Teddy Stauffer Ernst Heinrich "Teddy" Stauffer (2 May 1909 – 27 August 1991) was a Swiss bandleader, musician, actor, nightclub owner, and restaurateur. He was dubbed Germany's " swing-king" of the 1930s. He formed the band known as the Teddies (also known as ...

. Due to the intercession of Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

, 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 ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

). In 1940 she recorded the very popular song ''

La Paloma "La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish Basque composer Seba ...

'', 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 runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

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

arpeggiation A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

and

melisma Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referr ...

. 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 not ...

. 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, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

. 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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

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 program, 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 Septembe ...

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

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

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 Saison (French, "season," ) is a pale ale that is highly carbonated, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned. It was historically brewed with low alcohol levels, but modern productions of the style have moderate to high levels of alcohol. ...

''. 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 as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

on 6 April 1997.

Legacy

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

Das Boot ''Das Boot'' (, English: "The Boat") is a 1981 West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann. It has been exhibited both as ...

'' by

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for the World War II submarine warfare film ''Das Boot'' (1981). His other films include ''The Ne ...

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

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

Selected filmography

* '' Dark Eyes'' (1951)

References

Biography
(German)
BIOGRAFÍA DE ROSITA SERRANO
(Spanish)

(Spanish)

External links

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