Solomiya Krushelnytska is a Ukrainian opera singer, teacher.
Place of Birth, Education
She was born on September 23, 1872 in the village of Bilyavyntsi, Ternopil region, in the family of a Greek Catholic priest Amvrosiy Krushelnytskyi and his wife Theodora Maria, the daughter of a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), public figure Hryhoriy Savchynsky.
As a child, the family moved several times. At first, she lived in Osivtsi, and later – in Stari Petlykivtsi, Ternopil region. In 1878, she moved to the village of Bila on the outskirts of Ternopil, where they finally settled.
She started singing at a young age. She received her education at the Ternopil school of the society “Friends of Music”. She received basic musical training at the Ternopil Classical Gymnasium, where she passed exams as an external student.
In 1883, Krushelnytska first performed in front of the public during the Shevchenko concert in Ternopil, where she sang in the choir of the society “Ruska Besida”.
In 1891, she entered the Lviv Conservatory of the Galician Musical Society.
Career
While studying at the conservatory, Krushelnytska first declared herself as a solo performer. On April 13, 1892, she performed the main role in George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Messiah”, and on June 5 she performed in the “Lviv Boyana”, where she performed the song by Mykola Lysenko “Why do I have black eyebrows”.
The operatic debut took place on April 15, 1893. On the stage of the Lviv City Theater, Skarbka performed the part of Leonora in the opera “The Favorite” by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti.
Her performances as Santuzia in Pietro Mascagni’s opera “Cavalleria rusticana” were also a great success.
Opera stage
While studying at the conservatory, Krushelnytska received an invitation from the Polish Lviv Opera House. However, she decided to continue her education abroad. The decisive role in this choice was played by the famous Italian singer Gemma Bellincioni, who advised Krushelnytska to go to Italy and study with famous bel canto masters.
In the fall of 1893, Krushelnytska went to Italy. There she improved her vocals with the singing teacher Fausta Crespi.
From the next year, she performed on Lviv theater stages. Already in the second half of the 1890s, her career went beyond Lviv: she appeared on the stages of theaters in Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Russia, Poland, Austria, Egypt and a number of other countries.
From 1898 to 1902 she was the diva of the Warsaw Opera. Subsequently, she toured a lot and performed on the leading opera stages of the world.
“Madama Butterfly”
Famous in her biography was participation in the fate of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly”. In 1904, the premiere of the production at the La Scala Theater in Milan ended in failure – the audience booed the performance, in which the main part was performed by Rosina Storchio.
After that, the composer was advised to contact Krushelnytska. She agreed to take part in the new production, but invited Puccini to make changes to the work.
3 months after the failure in Milan, the opera was presented at the Teatro Grande in Brescia. This time the performance was a resounding success – the composer and singer were called to the stage 17 times. It was then that the expression appeared: “A Ukrainian woman saves Cio-Cio-san.”
Future Career
Despite international recognition, Krushelnytska has always emphasized her Ukrainian origin. Each of her concerts traditionally ended with a Ukrainian song – the program included works by Mykola Lysenko, Stanislav Lyudkevych and Anatoly Vakhnyanin.
In 1920, being at the peak of fame, she left the opera stage. The last time she sang in the Neapolitan theater, performing parts in Richard Wagner’s operas “Lorelei” and “Lohengrin”. After that, she performed chamber concerts for several more years.
In 1939, Krushelnytska came to Lviv to visit her sister. She never returned to Italy. There she was caught by the outbreak of World War II, but she could not leave the city due to a broken leg.
For a long time she was unemployed.
He received Soviet citizenship only after agreeing to sell his villa in Viareggio. The singer herself received only minor funds from the deal.
Only in 1946, Krushelnytska received the position of professor at the Lviv Conservatory.
Death/Fatalities
She passed away on November 16, 1952. She was buried in Lviv at the Lychakiv cemetery.
Marital Status
Throughout her life, she had many supporters and those who proposed marriage to her. Among them were lawyer Teofil Okunevsky, pharmacist and philanthropist Ivan Bilynsky, and, according to rumors, singer Fyodor Chaliapin.
However, Krushelnytska got married only in 1910. Her husband was the lawyer Cesare Riccioni, the mayor of the Italian city of Viareggio.
