Vishnevskaya, Galina (1926–)

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Vishnevskaya, Galina (1926–)

Russian soprano. Name variations: Vishnevskaiia; Galina Rostropovich. Born Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), USSR, Oct 25, 1926; m. Mstislav Rostropovich (cellist and conductor), 1955.

Trained in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) by Vera Garina; joined Bolshoi Theater's operatic staff in Moscow (1952); frequently appeared in concert with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, then married him; appeared with Metropolitan Opera in NY (1961); with husband, had repeated political clashes with Communist government, especially when they welcomed dissident Aleksander Solzhenitsyn into their home; immigrated to West (1974), settling in Washington, DC; stripped of Soviet citizenship (1978) but saw citizenship restored (1990); performed and recorded Benjamin Britten's War Requiem with Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, conducted by the composer (considered by many to be one of the great recordings of the 20th century).

See also autobiography Galina: A Russian Story (1984); and Women in World History.