Rina Ketty - born Cesarina Picchetto in Sarzana, Liguria, Italy on March 2, 1911 – was a singer best known for the songs “J’attendrai” and “Sombreros and Mantillas.” Her career began when she moved to Paris, France at the age of 20 and began performing in the clubs and cabarets in Montmartre. In 1934, she began performing at the Lapin Agile cabaret, where she would perform songs written by Théodore Botrel, Gaston Couté and Yvette Guilbert. She signed with Pathé Records in 1936 and recorded tracks including the hits "La Madone aux fleurs" (1936), "Sérénade sans espoir" (1937) and "J'attendrai" (1938), which was embraced by Allied and Axis soldiers alike during World War II. In 1938, Rina Ketty was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque for the song "Rien que mon cœur.” Some of her recordings ventured into the classical genre with “Tournerai” inspired by Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and “Mon cœur sighe” inspired by “Voi che sapete” from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. Rina Ketty was a popular performer and would perform live at many of Paris’ biggest halls. However, after divorcing her husband Jean Vaissade and the Nazi Occupation of France, she withdrew from the stage, although she did perform in Switzerland. After the Liberation of France, she returned to performing with a special show at the Cirque-Imperial (later renamed the Alhambra-Maurice Chevalier) in Paris. She followed this show with a French tour. However, the public’s interest in pre-war music had waned and after several more singles – including "Argentinian Serenade,” "La Samba tarentelle," and "La Roulotte des gypsies" - Rina Ketty left France for Canada in 1954 to restart her career. Returning to France a decade later, she made several high profile performances during the second half of the 1960s before retiring from the stage and running a restaurant in Cannes with her second husband. She returned to the stage for a brief tour in early 1996. Rina Ketty died on December 23, 1996, at the age of 85. Since her death, her recorded legacy has been kept alive by a series of compilations including Chante Encore dans la Nuit (2009), La Madone de la Chanson (2010), 50 Succès Essentiels - 1936-1953 (2016), and L'Accent Méditerranéen: 47 Succès - 1938-1954 (2020).
