La Forza del Destino. Act 4. Scene 2: A desolate spot near Leonora's hermitage. Leonora prays that she may find peace in death (Pace, pace mio Dio! - "Peace, O mighty Father, give me peace!")

This lovely lady with the dusky voice is the most amazing Leonora I've ever heard. Her recording of "Pace, pace mio Dio" was made in 1902! Yet Salomea Krusceniski's phonogenic voice comes through the mist of a century as clearly as if it had been recorded electrically. The top is lovely and approached elegantly, with a nice dark color. No scooping or blasting. When she opens the top up, there is power a-plenty, but she does not overdo it. It's just plain beautiful singing, from the messa di voce on the first "pa _ [cresc. decresc.] _ ce" to the big (and what's supposed to be pianissimo and long) high b flat at 3:48. Listen to her pianissimo Bb on the 'invan la paaaaace'. It is one of the most amazing sounds I've ever heard. However, the need to limit each recording to four and a half minutes so as to fit on one side of a record forced Salomea Krusceniski to end at "D".

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Ukrainian opera and concert singer Salomea Krusceniski (1872-1952) was born a citizen of Austria-Hungary and died as a Soviet citizen. In the first two decades of the 20th century, she was one of the premier voices in opera, crediting with turning Puccini's previously booed Madame Butterfly into a success with a 1904 performance. A favorite at Milan's La Scala, she performed on opera stages in Europe, North Africa, and the Americas. She was farmed for learning new roles quickly, and had over 60 in her repertoire. In 1920, she left opera for solo concert performances, singing in 8 languages while also promoting music of her native Ukraine.


Edmund St. Austell:
"Salomea Krusceniski [Соломія Крушельницька] was born in what is today Lvov, Poland, in 1872. At that time, this was Western Ukraine, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She studied at the Lviv Conservatory and made her debut in 1892, as Leonora in Donizetti's La Favorita, at the opera house of Lemberg. Further engagements followed quickly in Odessa, Warsaw, and St Petersburg. In 1898 she sang in Italy for the first time, as Leonora in La Forza del Destino. She enjoyed great success and was invited to sing in Rome, Naples, and at La Scala in Milan. In 1903 she settled in Milan because of political disturbances involving Poland and Ukraine. At La Scala, her Aida was a triumph, and a triumph in Madama Butterfly followed quickly. Her career soon took her abroad; to Spain, Portugal, and South America. Her repertoire eventually came to include 60 roles. She went on to have a very successful concert career, and from 1944 until 1952 she taught singing at the Lviv Conservatory. She died in 1952.
Krusceniski's name is known to many opera lovers, especially in Italy and Eastern Europe, but she remains, for many Americans, a discovery yet to be made. I know that my acquaintance with her, via a recording of 'Ritorna Vincitor', was a revelation, to say the least. More of a shock. I have seldom heard a more effective encapsulation of dramatic emotion in a piece of music ( ... )
I find that absolutely thrilling! It is not easy to explain. We enter here into the mystery of style, conviction, emotion, and musical art, in exactly the same way we do with Maria Callas. The style is perfect, and the musicality exemplary; she always sings, she never shouts. Her approach is always lyrical and musical, but the effect is more striking by far than if someone declaimed without consideration for the music. In that regard she is, like Callas, a great tragedian. That so much emotion can survive, intact, for 103 years, after having been recorded on laughably primitive equipment, is proof positive of her perfection of technique, musicality and style. I still struggle today to describe the effect this ancient recording had on me the first time I heard it ( ... )
Amazing recording, isn't it? The quality of the voice, in 1902, when she was 30 years of age, is truly superb—a solid column of sound, from top to bottom, well modulated and flawlessly produced."
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