7.30pm Saturday night and a crowd was already milling in front of the doors of the Carnegie Hall, tickets - for which they had paid 75 dollars a piece - in hand. This evening the legendary New York venue was to be the scene of Raquel Bitton's special tribute to Piaf. And given the American public's ongoing fascination with the late French chanson star, woe betide those who had waited until the last minute to get a ticket. 3000 people had already booked seats long in advance - in short, Raquel Bitton's show was well and truly sold out!

After squeezing into the hall I found myself in the tenth row of the central block - the perfect spot from which to watch what was happening around me as we waited for the lights to go down. (I only found out at the end of the show that the man sitting just in front of me was none other than Bob Holloway, Raquel's orchestrator, arranger and collaborator for the past few years). Rapidly scanning the horizon, my eyes were drawn upwards to the balconies which seemed to go on forever and ever and were packed with people as far as the eye could see. In fact, it was amazing to see how one four-letter word - P.I.A.F. - could cause such a stir. (The old man in the seat behind me was already dozing away!)

But tonight there was another name linked to Piaf's - and that was American singer Raquel Bitton. A singer full of fight and character who was not about to buckle under at the first cry of "yet another singer who thinks she's Piaf!" Having seen Bitton in action, I can confirm that this singer doesn't simply imitate, she performs in her own right. And performs with the same burning passion that years ago on this same stage made a worn-looking and exhausted Piaf into the One and Only Madame PIAF!

While Piaf only had a piano and accordion to accompany her on stage at the Carnegie Hall, Bitton went one better, taking to the stage with four violins, two cellos, a guitar, a mandolin and a clarinet - in short, a group of some 20 backing musicians. Bitton could certainly never be accused of copying. She turned up with all her own arrangements - and what arrangements they turned out to be!

The orchestra played a quick tribute medley, running through the old Piaf favourites which we still know and love. Then Raquel herself took to the stage, reviving the cherished classics such as "la Goualante du pauvre Jean", "l'Accordéoniste" and the famous "Flons-Flons du bal". But Raquel's show, entitled "Edith Piaf, son histoire, ses chansons" (Edith Piaf, Her Story, Her Songs), was not just about reviving the classics. Raquel had done her research when it came to the Piaf stories, contacting her former friends and songwriters such as Henri Contet ("le Vieux Piano", "Bravo pour le clown", "Padam Padam"). When Contet heard Raquel was set on reviving the Piaf legend he told her stories no-one had ever heard before. (Sadly, on the other side of the Atlantic, Piaf's songwriting team: Henri Contet, Charles Dumont - responsible for the legendary "Non je ne regrette rien" - and Michel Rivgauche, have fallen from grace and few people take much interest in them any more).

In the course of Raquel's show all Piaf's entourage got a mention, from her 'adopted' sister Momone to Jean Cocteau, a man who couldn't conceive of life without Piaf's friendship and who died the same day as her. The memory of Piaf's lover Marcel Cerdan was also evoked Raquel recounting his tragic end in a plane crash over the Açores and the concert Piaf dedicated to him the same night at Le Versailles, refusing to call off her performance.

Raquel revived the Piaf classics with aplomb too, performing everything from "Milord", "la Foule", and "Mon Dieu" to "L'Hymne à l'amour", "Amants d'un jour" and the wonderful "Padam". Thankyou Madame Piaf for the music and thankyou Raquel Bitton for reviving the memories and giving us another chance to see "la Vie en Rose"!

At 10.30pm the Carnegie Hall finally emptied, the audience wiping the last tears from their eyes and leaving the hall in an intense silence. On leaving the famous Hall I lingered outside for a moment and gazed up at the night sky, focusing on one tiny star shining more brightly than the others ... Looks like that Saturday night, as the saying goes, another star was born.

Myriem Wong

For more information on : website of Raquel Bitton