“Solomea: Uncovering a Family Legacy,” a new documentary about Ukrainian soprano Solomea Krushelnytska, will receive a special Italian screening on Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. at the Simonetta Puccini Auditorium in Torre del Lago Puccini.

The screening is set to take place on the same evening that “Madama Butterfly” will be performed at the Gran Teatro all’Aperto Giacomo Puccini.

When “Madama Butterfly” failed spectacularly at its 1904 La Scala premiere, Puccini revised the opera and personally asked Krushelnytska to take on the role of Cio-Cio-San for the new production in Brescia. The revised staging was a triumph, and the rest is history.

Directed by Krushelnytska’s grand-niece, Ukrainian-Canadian filmmaker Natalka Semotiuk, the documentary draws on decades of family research, international archives, and travels across the locations where Krushelnytska lived and performed. Among the film’s rare materials is the only known surviving footage of the soprano, as well as a historic recording of her singing “Un bel dì, vedremo” from the famed Puccini opera.

The screening will be introduced by Dr. Lisa Domenici and is presented with the support of the Fondazione Simonetta Puccini per Giacomo Puccini and the Puccini Museum. Semotiuk will attend and participate in a post-film discussion. The film runs 90 minutes, in English with Italian subtitles.

There will also be an August 29 screening in Lviv, Ukraine for exclusive guests.

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