Opera Singer. A noted dramatic soprano of early 20th Century Europe, she is remembered as an exponent of some of opera's most difficult roles. Raised in L'viv in what was then Polish Galicia, she initially studied in her native city and made her April 15, 1893, professional bow there as Leonora from Donizetti's "La Favorita" before moving on to Krakow; after appearing at Cremona in 1895 as Valentine in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots" and as the title lead of Puccini's "Manon Lescaut", Salomea performed in Eastern Europe over the next few seasons, bowed at Naples' Teatro San Carlo in 1903 and at La Scala Milano in 1906, and on April 15, 1907 sang the La Scala world premiere of Francesco Cilea's "Gloria" under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. During the coming years she was praised in the major venues of Europe and South America, her noted roles including the title characters of Puccini's "Tosca" and "Madame Butterfly", Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur", Verdi's "Aida", and Richard Strauss' "Salome" and "Elektra", as well as Brunnhilde of Wagner's "Ring Cycle". Married to Count Cesare Riccioni in 1910, she took Italian citizenship and thereafter based her career out of her adopted country. Salomea retired from opera in 1920 but continued to sing recitals up thru 1929; she returned to the Ukraine in 1939 and was a distinguished professor at the L'viv Conservatory. In 1997 she was depicted on a Ukrainian postage stamp and today a theatre, a school, and a street in L'viv carry her name. A number of her recordings have been preserved on CD.
Opera Singer. A noted dramatic soprano of early 20th Century Europe, she is remembered as an exponent of some of opera's most difficult roles. Raised in L'viv in what was then Polish Galicia, she initially studied in her native city and made her April 15, 1893, professional bow there as Leonora from Donizetti's "La Favorita" before moving on to Krakow; after appearing at Cremona in 1895 as Valentine in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots" and as the title lead of Puccini's "Manon Lescaut", Salomea performed in Eastern Europe over the next few seasons, bowed at Naples' Teatro San Carlo in 1903 and at La Scala Milano in 1906, and on April 15, 1907 sang the La Scala world premiere of Francesco Cilea's "Gloria" under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. During the coming years she was praised in the major venues of Europe and South America, her noted roles including the title characters of Puccini's "Tosca" and "Madame Butterfly", Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur", Verdi's "Aida", and Richard Strauss' "Salome" and "Elektra", as well as Brunnhilde of Wagner's "Ring Cycle". Married to Count Cesare Riccioni in 1910, she took Italian citizenship and thereafter based her career out of her adopted country. Salomea retired from opera in 1920 but continued to sing recitals up thru 1929; she returned to the Ukraine in 1939 and was a distinguished professor at the L'viv Conservatory. In 1997 she was depicted on a Ukrainian postage stamp and today a theatre, a school, and a street in L'viv carry her name. A number of her recordings have been preserved on CD.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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