Valentina Nafornița (also spelled ''Naforniță''; born 10 June 1987) is a Moldovan

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. She is best known for her interpretation of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and

bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...

repertoire.

Childhood and studies

Nafornița was born in

Cuhnești Cuhnești is a commune in Glodeni District, Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania t ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. Interested in music from a young age, she began studying singing, violin and dancing as a child. She went on to graduate from the Ștefan Neaga Music College (high school) in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

, Moldova, in 2006, followed by a degree in Opera from the National University of Music in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Romania. There, she studied under Eleonora Enăchescu and Maria Slătinaru-Nistor. During and following her studies, she began entering vocal competitions, winning the Romanian Orange Prize for Young Musicians, the Hariclea Darclée Competition, and the Young Opera Singers of Europe Competition. In 2011, she won both the Singer of the World and the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Award at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. This marked a turning point in her career.

Career

In September 2011, Nafornița became a member of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

ensemble, where she made her professional stage debut as Papagena in ''Die Zauberflöte''. As a member of the ensemble, she debuted numerous roles including: Musetta (''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

)'', Susanna (''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

)'' Pamina (''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

)'', Adina (''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

''), Norina (''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'')) Gilda (''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

)'', Zerlina (''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

)'', Nayade (''

Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's ...

''), Clorinda (''Cenerentola''), Oscar ('' Un ballo in maschera)'', and Ilia (''

Idomeneo (Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', Köchel catalogue, K. 366) is an Italian-language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Vares ...

)''. Also in Vienna, in February 2013 and 2018, she was chosen as the singer to open the

Vienna Opera Ball The Vienna Opera Ball (German: ''Wiener Opernball'') is an annual Austrian society event which takes place in the building of the Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria on the Thursday preceding Ash Wednesday (a religious holiday). Together with t ...

. In 2014, she made her debut at the

Salzburger Festspiele The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

as Zerlina in ''

,'' and in 2016, she made her debut in Paris in the role of Sophie (''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'') at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées opposite

Juan Diego Flórez Juan Diego Flórez (born Juan Diego Flórez Salom, January 13, 1973) is a Peruvian operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in bel canto operas. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest decoration, the ''Knight Grand Cross in t ...

and

Joyce DiDonato Joyce DiDonato (née Flaherty; born February 13, 1969) is an American opera singer and recitalist. A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has performed operas and concert works spanning from the 19th-century Romantic era to those by Handel and Mozart. ...

. The following season, in September 2017, she made her

Opéra national de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

debut as Valencienne in ''

Die lustige Witwe ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality ...

,'' and returned to the French capital as Servilia (''

La clemenza di Tito (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...

)'' in November 2017, Adina (''L'elisir d'amore)'' in 2018, and as the title role in ''

Iolanta ''Iolanta'', Op. 69, ( ) is a lyric opera in one act by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was the last opera he composed. The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play ' (''King René's Daughter'') by ...

'' in 2019. In 2018, Nafornița made her debut at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma as Musetta (''

)'', as well as her role and house debut as Fiordiligi in ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' at the Opéra de Lausanne. The later was broadcast on

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

, becoming one of the most viewed operas in 2018 on the channel's online platform. Other notable debuts include Norina (''

)'' in a new production (2015) by Irina Brook with

and Michele Pertusi, conducted by

Jesús López Cobos Jesús López Cobos (25 February 1940 – 2 March 2018) was a Spanish conductor. Early life and career López Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy. L ...

. She was invited twice to perform in the televised ''Christmas in Vienna'' concert in 2015 and 2018, broadcast on

ORF III ORF III (''ORF drei'', ''Österreichischer Rundfunk 3''), sometimes called ORF 3 is an Austrian television channel owned by the Austrian national broadcaster, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). The channel launched on 26 October 2011 at 14:00 CE ...

and

. In 2017, she made her house debut at the

Staatsoper Hamburg The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of ...

as Adina. Highlights of her 2019/20 season include a role debut as Helena in

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

','' Norina in ''

','' Susanna in ''

'' and a role debut as Irina in '' Tri Sestri,'' all at the

, and Adina in ''

'' at the Opéra de Lausanne and the

Nationaltheater Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre () is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18th century Mannheim was the cap ...

. Her debut album will be released on 10 January 2020. Nafornița has sung a version of the popular Romanian folk song "

Cântă cucu-n Bucovina "Cântă cucu-n Bucovina" or "Cântă cucu în Bucovina" () is a Romanian folk song, more precisely a doină, composed in 1904 by . The lyrics are original, while the melody is a modified Bukovinian mourning song. Mandicevschi composed it at t ...

" ("Sings the Cuckoo in Bukovina").

Personal life

In 2021 Valentina divorced her husband, baritone Mihai Dogotari. She is the patron of CCF Moldova, an organization which helps kids in need in her native

Recordings

* ''Romance,'' Münchner Runfunkorchster conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, Outhere Music, 2020 * ''

'' by Mozart, 2014 (DVD) singing the role of Zerlina. Salzburger Festspiele with the

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. * ''

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...

: Filmmusik: The World Of Hans Zimmer'', 2019 (CD),

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nafornita, Valentina 1987 births Living people People from Glodeni District Operatic sopranos Moldovan opera singers 21st-century Moldovan women singers 21st-century women opera singers National University of Music Bucharest alumni