People's Artist of Russia Rimma Volkova died in a car accident

Rimma Volkova became a victim of a car accident that occurred on the 42nd km of the Peterhof-Keikino highway in the Lomonosov district of the Leningrad region. According to police, the accident occurred at 17:30 Moscow time on June 6.

For unclear reasons, the 48-year-old Peugeot Boxer driver drove into the oncoming lane, where he rammed a Datsun car driven by a 61-year-old man. The Datsun driver and his 80-year-old passenger were killed instantly. Another 59-year-old passenger from this car was taken to hospital in serious condition. The Peugeot driver was also hospitalized. On the fact of the accident, the police are checking.

“It is with great sadness that we are forced to report that on Sunday evening, a vocal department teacher, People's Artist of Russia Rimma Stepanovna Volkova, died in a terrible car accident”, - TASS quotes a message posted on the VKontakte page of the music school. Rimsky-Korsakov, where Rimma Volkova taught.

According to colleagues, Rimma Volkova was a person of “big soul and warm heart”. She came to school after a quarter-century of work at the Mariinsky Theater.

“She loved her students, was sincerely devoted to her work - she always had a great class, was in charge of the vocal department for many years, and brought up many wonderful graduates. ...She was full of strength, energy and creative plans”, - the message says.

Rimma Volkova graduated from the Kazan Conservatory in 1967. In her fourth year she became a laureate of the International Singing Competition in Rio de Janeiro. Then she was invited to the troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. S. M. Kirov (now Mariinsky). She worked in this theater from 1967 to 1993. In the very first year of her work in the theater, the artist sang six parts, including Martha in N. Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Tsar's Bride" and Antonida in M. Glinka's opera "Ivan Susanin". Since 1967, she has toured extensively abroad. Over the years of her stage career at the Mariinsky Theater, the singer has performed almost all the parts of the lyric and coloratura soprano in the theater's repertoire. After completing her service in the theater, the People's Artist moved to teaching at the Rimsky-Korsakov Children's Music School in St. Petersburg, where she brought up many talented students.

Dozens of people left their condolences under the message about the death of the artist. They wrote that Rimma Volkova was a talented, modest person with a huge soul.

"We were all orphaned at once... A man of the greatest soul and huge kind heart... Words of sorrow cannot be found... Incredible...", - wrote the users.