Before retiring in 1977, Irene was a major international opera star, having performed in every major opera house from Naples to San Francisco. She was a principal artist at New York’s Metropolitan Opera for 20 consecutive seasons and was distinguished by the range and large number of roles in her repertoire. By the end of her career, she had 44 roles in her repertoire, including every major mezzo-soprano role in the operas of Verdi, Wagner and Richard Strauss.