Moldavian-born Valentina Naforniţa is considered one of the most sought-after sopranos of her generation. Shortly after graduating from the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania, she won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and started her international career as an opera singer.
As a young member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera Valentina Naforniţa was able to develop a broad repertoire. Her Papagena in Mozart's The Magic Flute was followed by several remarkable debuts, including Musetta (La Bohème), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Norina (Don Pasquale), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Oscar (Un ballo in maschera) and Ilia (Idomeneo).
Her debut as Zerlina at the Salzburg Festival in the summer of 2014 was followed by appearances at the Opéra national de Paris in the title role of Iolanta, at the Opéra de Lausanne as Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro and at the State Operas of Hamburg, Berlin and Munich, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and continuously at the Vienna State Opera.
Further highlights of her career include Helena in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Vienna State Opera, Musetta (La Bohème) at the Teatro de Liceu in Barcelona, Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence under the baton of Zubin Mehta, and a film adaptation of La Bohème for the Italian RAI.
The 2022/ 23 season saw Valentina Naforniţa returning to the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, where for the first time she appeared on stage in the role of Micaëla (Carmen). With great success, she also made her debut at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus (musical direction: Fabio Luisi).
In the season 2023/24 she will give her debut as Mimì (La Bohème) at Berlin State Opera and will, once again, perform the role of Zerlina, this time at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
The artist regularly works with world-class conductors such as Bertrand de Billy, Guillermo García Calvo, Karel Mark Chichon, Gustavo Dudamel, Ádám Fischer, Louis Langrée, Cristian Mandeal, Ingo Metzmacher, Kazushi Ono, Evelino Pidò, Peter Schneider and Franz Welser-Möst, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Simone Young and Massimo Zanetti.
Her first album Romance was released by the label Alpha in 2020 to critical acclaim.