Galina Vishnevskaya

Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya was a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a Peoples Artist of the USSR in 1966. She was the wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and mother to their two daughters, Olga and Elena Rostropovich.

Vishnevskaya was born in Leningrad. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 singing operetta. After a year studying with Vera Nikolayevna Garina, she won a competition held by the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1952. The next year, she became a member of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Source: Wikipedia