Shpiller, Natalʹi︠a︡ Dmitrievna, 1909-1995

Natalia Dmitrevna Shpiller, sometimes spelled Natalia Spiller, Natalya Shpiller, Natalʹja Špiller, or Natalʹia Shpiller, (Russian: Ната́лья Дми́триевна Шпи́ллер, Ukrainian: Ната́лія Дми́трівна Шпі́ллер; 7 September 1909 – 20 July 1995) was a Soviet lyric soprano of Czech ethnicity who was a leading opera singer at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow from the 1930s through the 1950s. Beloved by Joseph Stalin, she was frequently used by him for performances at the Moscow Kremlin to impress visiting dignitaries. A People's Artist of Russia, a Lenin Prize recipient, and the winner of multiple Stalin Prizes, she was a voice teacher on the faculty of the Gnessin State Musical College from 1950 through 1995. Two Stalin Prizes first degree (1943, 1950). Stalin Prize second degree (1941).