1872–1952
Solomiia Krushelnytska
Opera singer (soprano)
A Ukrainian opera singer (soprano) who performed on leading stages in Europe and South America, including La Scala in Milan. In 1904, at Giacomo Puccini’s invitation, she brilliantly sang the role of Butterfly after his opera’s failed premiere.
Key accomplishments
- Sang at La Scala in Milan, the Paris Opéra, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and other leading stages
- In 1904, at Giacomo Puccini’s invitation, she brilliantly sang the role of Butterfly in his opera
- First performer of the title roles in the Italian productions of Richard Strauss’s Salome (1906) and Elektra (1909)
- Professor at the Lviv Conservatory (1944–1951)
Who she was
Solomiia Krushelnytska was born in 1872 in the village of Biliavyntsi in the Ternopil region and spent her childhood and youth in the village of Bila. In 1893 she graduated from the Lviv Conservatory, and that same year she made her debut in Lviv in Gaetano Donizetti’s opera La Favorita. She then refined her skills in Milan and Vienna.
Her story
Krushelnytska (soprano) sang in Odesa, Warsaw, Saint Petersburg, Paris, Naples, at La Scala in Milan and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. In 1904 Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly failed at its premiere at La Scala. That same year, at the composer’s invitation, Krushelnytska brilliantly sang the title role at the Teatro Grande. According to the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine, Puccini considered her “the most beautiful and most charming Butterfly.” She was the first to sing the title roles in the Italian productions of Richard Strauss’s operas Salome (1906) and Elektra (1909).
The singer had a powerful voice with a range of three octaves and performed every work in its original language. She promoted Ukrainian music, singing folk songs and works by Mykola Lysenko, Stanyslav Liudkevych and Denys Sichynskyi. In 1910 she married the Italian lawyer Cesare Riccioni and lived in Viareggio. In the mid-1920s she left the opera stage and gave chamber concerts in Western Europe, Canada and the United States. In 1939 she returned to Lviv, where in 1944–1951 she was a professor at the conservatory. She died in Lviv in 1952.
Why it matters today
Krushelnytska won worldwide recognition alongside singers such as Enrico Caruso and Feodor Chaliapin, and at the same time she never forgot Ukrainian song. Since 2001 the Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater has borne her name, and memorial museums dedicated to her are open in Bila and Lviv.
Interesting facts
- Mykola Lysenko dedicated several works to her, including “Do Not Forget the Days of Youth.”
