Nancy Reagan maid returned to work at the White House. In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev became the first Soviet leader to visit Washington, D.C. since Nikita Khrushchev made the trip in 1959 at the height of the Cold War. Nancy was in charge of planning and hosting the important and highly anticipated state dinner, with the goal to impress both the Soviet leader and especially his wife Raisa Gorbacheva. After the meal, she recruited pianist Van Cliburn to play a rendition of "Moscow Nights" for the Soviet delegation, to which Mikhail and Raisa broke out into song. Secretary of State George P. Shultz
Rosa Raisa her for his Philadelphia-Chicago Opera. As she was under 21 years of age, her engagement was confirmed in a handshake. Debuts and successes followed rapidly for Raisa. Her North American debut was on 14 November 1913 with Campanini's Chicago-Philadelphia Opera Company in Baltimore as Mimí in "La Bohème" with Giovanni Martinelli of the Metropolitan Opera in his first season in North America. (Martinelli was to be her partner in 1937 in her last stage appearance of her career in Halévy's "La Juive" in Chicago). Her first role in Philadelphia was Isabella of Aragon in the United States premiere of Alberto