Ode to a Butterfly – Celebrating Solomea Krushelnytska

Ode to a Butterfly – Celebrating Solomea Krushelnytska

A Group Exhibition Celebrating the Life of Solomea Krushelnytska

Artists Reception for “Ode to a Butterfly” on Friday, February 3, 2023.

Register to attend at rsvp@ukrainianinstitute.org.

In partial celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ukrainian soprano Solomea Krushelnytska, the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO), the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations and the Ukrainian Institute of America put out an open call for visual artists to submit works inspired by the colorful life of the opera singer for an exhibition to be held at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York.

Curated by Andrew Horodysky and Rymma Mylenkova, PhD, Ode to a Butterfly brings together 20 selected artists working in a wide range of media — painting, sculpture, photography, assemblage, collage, and fiber — who are each unique in style yet collectively bold in the quest to reimagine notions of the muse, reinventing popular motifs and metaphors, among them portraiture, nature, music, and still-life. A number of artists form literal connections to Solomea Krushelnytska’s image, while others connect their unique pasts with their cultural experiences of the present to create works that are rich in archetypal and spiritual storytelling.

Exhibiting artists:

Erik Airapetian
Armine Bozhko
Daria Dorosh
Anya Farion
Kateryna Ganchak
Alla Guzhva
Kathie Halfin
Maya Hayuk
Anastasiia Kovalova
Katrina Majkut
Rymma Mylenkova
Yevgenia Nayberg
Ola Rondiak
Christina Saj
Ulana Salewycz
Ilona Sochynsky
Serhiy Stepanov
Misha Tyutyunik
Lesya Verba
Yuliya Yasenetska

About Solomea Krushelnytska

Solomea Krushelnytska (1872–1952) was one of the greatest international operatic stars of the early 20th century, a modern symbol of cultural diplomacy and trailblazer of women’s independent standing in the arts, leading a brilliant and conscious singing career.

Born in the village of Biliavyntsi in Halychyna, her formative years were filled with music – hearing folk songs sung by villagers as they worked in the fields. She first took to the stage at age 11 when her singing instantly gained her recognition. Krushelnytska’s operatic career began with her studies at the Lviv Conservatory, where she made her debut as Leonarda in a production of Donizetti’s “La Fontina.”

Notably in 1904, Solomea Krushelnytska saved an Italian production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” Studying and performing in Italy, Krushelnytska settled in Viareggio, on the Apennine Peninsula, South of Genoa. From the balcony of her home, she would marvel at the fantastic beauty of the sunset and the sea. Sources say that this reminded the singer of Ukrainian wheat fields undulating in the wind.

For many years to come, Solomea would divide her time between Milan, Lviv and numerous touring engagements, necessary to ensure sufficient funding for her ongoing studies. Naturally, the passion for learning along with incredible talent brought their dividends: Solomiya had performed in most famous venues all over the world, including La Scala, The Paris Grand Opera, the theatres in Naples, Warsaw, St.Petersburg, Rome, Cairo and Alexandria, among others in North and South America.

After 1920, Solomea changed her career path from opera singer to concert performer. Knowing eight languages, and having performed over sixty roles, she included songs of many nations in her concert programs, but always remembered to add Ukrainian folk songs and popular works by Ukrainian composers to her vast repertoire.

Despite the hardships the singer suffered during the Nazi and Soviet regimes, and not being able to give big stage performances during the last decades of her life due to the Iron Curtain, Krushelnytska has remained a great figure, acknowledged and recognized in the world of opera music.

Solomea Krushelnytska died at the age of 80 in Lviv, Ukraine. A monument was erected at her grave site in Lviv, and her home has since been converted into a museum in her honor. The Lviv Opera House, Ukraine’s most notable theater, is named in her memory.

To learn more about Solomea Krushelnytska, her life, career, home and museum, please visit:

https://salomeamuseum.com.ua
https://bit.ly/3RaoeFQ
http://www.orpheusandlyra.com/krushelnytska.html