Piaf's

With songs like "Il Pescatore" by Bizet -- sung by the inimitable Beniamino Gigli -- and Louis Armstong's version of "La Vie en Rose", as well as, of course, Piaf's "Milord," the song that started it all for this duo, The Merrymakers successfully impact the audience with a blend of comedy, drama and poignancy.

E. Nina Rothe: Dazzling in NYC -- The Merrymakers Present: Adventures in Anytown E. Nina Rothe 2011

With songs like "Il Pescatore" by Bizet -- sung by the inimitable Beniamino Gigli -- and Louis Armstong's version of "La Vie en Rose", as well as, of course, Piaf's "Milord," the song that started it all for this duo, The Merrymakers successfully impact the audience with a blend of comedy, drama and poignancy.

E. Nina Rothe: Dazzling in NYC -- The Merrymakers Present: Adventures in Anytown E. Nina Rothe 2011

What "No Regrets" offers is a ­concise, reliable chronology of Piaf's life, with all the major concert dates, songs though a discography would have been useful, love affairs, friendships and ­ailments.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011

Ms. Burke says that the real love of Piaf's life was her audience, the faithful public that never let her down, never grew lukewarm in its ardor and never divvied its affections with a wife.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011

In her last years, when the rousing voice began to wane and her May-­December marriage to a hairdresser 20 years her junior sent the tabloids into overdrive, Piaf's fan base remained loyal.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011

That her 1960 anthem "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" has managed to be perfectly at home with ultra-right ­legionnaires patrolling colonial Algiers and in Christopher Nolan's ultra-hip 2010 sci-fi thriller "Inception" speaks to the breadth of Piaf's appeal.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011

The haunting, transcendent quality of Piaf's voice—the emotion it conveyed, the power that emerged from the singer's slight frame—captivated those who heard it.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011

With songs like "Il Pescatore" by Bizet -- sung by the inimitable Beniamino Gigli -- and Louis Armstong's version of "La Vie en Rose", as well as, of course, Piaf's "Milord," the song that started it all for this duo, The Merrymakers successfully impact the audience with a blend of comedy, drama and poignancy.

E. Nina Rothe: Dazzling in NYC -- The Merrymakers Present: Adventures in Anytown E. Nina Rothe 2011

From this point, Piaf's life and career become the stuff of 1930s French melodrama.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011

While Ms. Burke nicely ­debunks the more self-serving accounts to have entered the literature since Piaf's death, notably by friends and ­ex-lovers seeking to grant themselves more prominent billing in her saga, the ­portrait is surface-deep.

The Sound of France Mark Polizzotti 2011