Trivia

She was a Latvian operatic soprano. She was discovered by the great Russian bass singer Feodor Chaliapin.

During WWII, she gave concerts in Italy, but then was barred from returning to Latvia to her husband and family. The Soviet Union occupied Latvia, and tens of thousands were killed or deported. Among her family, only her son survived, in Siberia. After remarrying in Italy, she kept a low profile. In the late 1950s, she returned to Latvia with hopes of being reunited with her son, and then was not permitted to leave the country. She finally left in 1970. She ended up teaching in Washington DC and then retiring in Wilmington.