The 69th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago this year will amaze visitors not only with new opera productions by Maestro Puccini, performances, symphonic music concerts, and recitals but also with an exhibition in collaboration with artists from Ukraine. On the day of the festival premiere of the opera “Madama Butterfly” on July 28, a unique modular exhibition about the renowned Ukrainian soprano Solomiya Krushelnytska, the famous performer of the role of Cio-Cio-San who dared to take on the role in the revised version of the opera after its fiasco at La Scala, will be presented. Giacomo Puccini referred to Solomiya as the “most beautiful and charming Butterfly”.

The unique modular exhibition was prepared by the team of the Solomiya Krushelnytska Musical Memorial Museum in Lviv, Ukraine, and the renowned Ukrainian media artist Serhii Petliuk, whose personal exhibitions have been presented in Ukraine, France, Denmark, Poland, the United States, India, and other countries. The exhibition project, titled “Grand Tour: Solomiya. Ukraine-Italy”, is presented at the Puccini Festival with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund. It will be brought from Lviv and exclusively presented to the international audience of the festival for the first time.

The exhibition will tell the story of the life and artistic journey of Solomiya Krushelnytska: her origins and education, opera triumphs on the stages of theaters in nearly 20 countries worldwide, her diverse repertoire, which included over 60 operas by various composers and eras, collaborations with prominent composers and conductors, and concert tours. Visitors will also have the opportunity to hear the voice of the Ukrainian soprano through century-old archival recordings of arias from Puccini's “Madama Butterfly” and Wagner's “Die Walküre” performed by Krushelnytska. A special chapter in the singer's creative biography is her collaboration with Puccini – the Ukrainian soprano was one of the best interpreters of his music and performed leading roles in operas such as “Manon Lescaut”, “La Bohème”, “Tosca”, and “Madama Butterfly” in theaters in Italy, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Egypt. Both artists shared a friendship for many years, as Krushelnytska lived in a neighboring town after marrying Viareggio's mayor, Cesare Ricchoni.

The presentation of the exhibition at the Puccini Festival is an important gesture of support for Ukraine due to the shared cultural history and achievements in the field of opera.
The exhibition “Grand Tour: Solomiya. Ukraine-Italy” will be on display until the conclusion of the Puccini Festival on August 26. The museum team is currently in negotiations to showcase the exhibition in opera theaters and countries where Krushelnytska triumphed over a century ago.

Contact information for the museum's press service:
Stefaniia Oliinyk, +38 (097) 680-28-05 (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)
[email protected]