Valentina Nafornița

Valentina Nafornița
OR
Nafornița in 2015
Born (1987-06-10) 10 June 1987 (age 37)
Cuhnești, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union (now Moldova)
EducationNational University of Music Bucharest
OccupationOperatic soprano
Years active2011–present
Websitewww.nafornita.com

Valentina Nafornița (also spelled Naforniță; born 10 June 1987) is a Moldovan operatic soprano. She is best known for her interpretation of Mozart and bel canto repertoire.

Childhood and studies

Nafornița was born in Cuhnești, Moldova. 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, Moldova, in 2006, followed by a degree in Opera from the National University of Music in Bucharest, 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.[1] 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[2] competition. This marked a turning point in her career.

Career

In September 2011, Nafornița became a member of the Vienna State Opera 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),[3] Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro)[3] Pamina (Die Zauberflöte),[3] Adina (L'elisir d'amore),[3] Norina (Don Pasquale))[3] Gilda (Rigoletto),[3] Zerlina (Don Giovanni),[3] Nayade (Ariadne auf Naxos),[3] Clorinda (Cenerentola),[3] Oscar (Un ballo in maschera),[3] and Ilia (Idomeneo).[3] Also in Vienna, in February 2013 and 2018, she was chosen as the singer to open the Vienna Opera Ball.[4]

In 2014, she made her debut at the Salzburger Festspiele as Zerlina in Don Giovanni,[5] and in 2016, she made her debut in Paris in the role of Sophie (Werther)[6] at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées opposite Juan Diego Flórez and Joyce DiDonato. The following season, in September 2017, she made her Opéra national de Paris debut as Valencienne in Die lustige Witwe,[7] and returned to the French capital as Servilia (La clemenza di Tito) in November 2017,[7] Adina (L'elisir d'amore) in 2018,[7] and as the title role in Iolanta in 2019.[7]

In 2018, Nafornița made her debut at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma as Musetta (La bohème),[7] as well as her role and house debut as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at the Opéra de Lausanne.[7] The later was broadcast on Arte, becoming one of the most viewed operas in 2018 on the channel's online platform.

Other notable debuts include Norina (Don Pasquale) in a new production (2015) by Irina Brook with Juan Diego Flórez and Michele Pertusi, conducted by Jesús López Cobos. She was invited twice to perform in the televised Christmas in Vienna concert in 2015 and 2018,[8] broadcast on ORF III and Arte. In 2017, she made her house debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg as Adina.[9]

Highlights of her 2019/20 season include a role debut as Helena in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream[10], Norina in Don Pasquale[11], Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro[12] and a role debut as Irina in Tri Sestri,[13] all at the Vienna State Opera,[14] and Adina in L'elisir d'amore at the Opéra de Lausanne and the Nationaltheater Mannheim.[15]

Her debut album will be released on 10 January 2020.[needs update]

Nafornița has sung a version of the popular Romanian folk song "Cântă cucu-n Bucovina" ("Sings the Cuckoo in Bukovina").[16]

Personal life

In 2021 Valentina divorced her husband, baritone Mihai Dogotari. She is the patron of CCF Moldova,[17] an organization which helps kids in need in her native Moldova.

Recordings

References

  1. ^ "Valentina Naforniţă". Opéra national de Paris. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  2. ^ "BBC - BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, 2011 - Moldova: Valentina Naforniţă". BBC. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Valentina Naforniţa\publisher=Vienna State Opera". Retrieved 2019-08-02.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Valentina Nafornita - Hilbert Artists Management". www.hilbert.de. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  5. ^ "Salzburger Festspiele | Biografie Valentina Nafornita". archive.salzburgerfestspiele.at. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  6. ^ "Gesichter NRW - Kulturserver NRW". www.kulturserver-nrw.de. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Engagements". operabase.com. Retrieved 2019-08-02.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ ""Christmas in Vienna" – Konzert mit Eröd und Nafornita". Salzburger Nachrichten (in German). 24 September 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  9. ^ "L'elisir d'amore, Gaetano Donizetti, Valentina Nafornita, Dovlet Nurgeldiyev, Hamburgische Staatsoper". Klassik begeistert (in German). 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  10. ^ "A Midsummer Night's Dream". upstream.wiener-staatsoper.at (in German). Vienna State Opera. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  11. ^ "Don Pasquale". upstream.wiener-staatsoper.at (in German). Vienna State Opera. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  12. ^ "Le nozze di Figaro". upstream.wiener-staatsoper.at (in German). Vienna State Opera. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  13. ^ "Tri Sestri (Drei Schwestern)". upstream.wiener-staatsoper.at (in German). Vienna State Opera. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  14. ^ "A Midsummer Night's Dream". upstream.wiener-staatsoper.at (in German). Vienna State Opera. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  15. ^ "Nationaltheater Mannheim – Der Liebestrank". nationaltheater-mannheim.de. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  16. ^ "VIDEO // "Cântă cucu-n Bucovina", varianta interpretată de Valentina Naforniță: "Veți auzi un cântec trist, dar de mare dor"". Ziarul Național (in Romanian). 25 May 2020.
  17. ^ "CCF Moldova". Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  18. ^ Snowcap, Bureau347 &. "Romance Outhere Music". outhere-music.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni (Blu-ray Disc) – jpc". www.jpc.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  20. ^ "Hans Zimmer: The World Of Hans Zimmer – A Symphonic Celebration (2 CDs) – jpc.de". www.jpc.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-08-02.