Irina Arkhipova

Irina Konstantinovna Arkhipova (née Vetoshkina, 2 January 1925 – 11 February 2010) was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano, and later contralto, opera singer. She sang leading roles first in Russia at the Sverdlovsk Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre, and then throughout Europe and in the United States. People's Artist of the USSR (1966) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1984).