Colette D'Arville

Colette D'Arville (1902 – 16 December 1944) was a French soprano and musical theatre actress who had an international career in operas, concerts, and musicals from the 1920s through the 1940s. Born Marie Marthe Cescosse, she began her career at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens from 1922 to 1927 with the stage name Colette Etchery, she changed her stage name to Colette D'Arville for her United States debut in the 1928 Broadway musical Here's Howe. She was active with the Opéra-Comique in Paris during the 1930s, and periodically appeared in operas with American companies from 1931 to 1942 in addition to performing on American radio and in concerts and recitals. She was particularly associated with the title role in Bizet's Carmen. While principally active in live performance on the stage and radio, she starred as Chichita in the 1935 musical film Tango Bar for Paramount Pictures. She was romantically involved with composer Deems Taylor and tenor Giovanni Martinelli. Colette D'Arville was born Marie Marthe Cescosse in the French Basque Country to Emile and Jeanne Cescosse in 1902. She began her performance career in Europe using the stage name Colette Etchery. Before going to America she was committed to the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens from 1922 to 1927 where she established herself as a comedienne and soprano in French operetta. Initially trained as a singer in Paris by Berton, she later studied singing with Estelle Liebling, the voice teacher of Beverly Sills, in New York City. D'Arville went to the United States in 1928 when the talent agents Edward S. Keller and Sam Shannon of the K-A-O agency booked her on the American vaudeville circuit; and it is at this time that she adopted the stage name Colette D'Arville. They marketed her as 18 years of age at the time, but in reality she was 26. She made her American theatre debut as Claudette Pernier in the Roger Wolfe Kahn, Joseph Meyer, and Irving Caesar musical Here's Howe which premiered at the Shubert Theatre in Boston on 23 April 1928, for a week of tryout performances. The work opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on 1 May 1928, and was produced by Alex. A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley with choreography by Sammy Lee. After that production closed on 20 June 1928, she performed the role of Trini in the national tour of Dave Stamper's musical Take the Air which began in August 1928.