A symbol of French realist song, Berthe Sylva is best known for her rendition of
the classic "Les Roses blanches". Born in Lambézellec, Finistère, on February 7,
1885, Berthe Francine Ernestine Faquet (real name) had a poor childhood, working
as a chambermaid before turning to song in 1908 at the Casino Saint-Martin, then
at the Casino Montparnasse and Casino Montmartre in Paris. Between tours of
Algiers, where she performed a realistic repertoire including "Chant en
l'honneur des morts de l'armée d'Afrique", Berthe Sylva sang for the soldiers of
the First World War. Noticed by a...