Solomiya Krushelnytska was a celebrated Ukrainian soprano from Galicia whom contemporaries called one of the greatest singers of her age. She commanded the bel canto and Wagnerian repertoire brilliantly, performing at La Scala in Milan, in Buenos Aires, and Rome — on the world's most prestigious stages.
A legendary episode: after the failure of the premiere of Puccini's “Madama Butterfly” (1904), it was Krushelnytska who sang the leading role in the revised version in Brescia — and the opera triumphantly came to life, becoming a world classic. A grateful Puccini gave her his portrait inscribed “to the most beautiful and charming Butterfly.” Despite world fame, Solomiya remained an ardent Ukrainian patriot, returned to Lviv, and taught at the conservatory, becoming the pride of the Ukrainian vocal school.
