James Valenti

James Valenti (born September 2, 1977) is an American operatic tenor with an active international career. He was the 2010 winner of the Richard Tucker Award.

Life and career

Born in the town of Summit, New Jersey and raised in Clinton, he is a graduate of West Virginia University and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.^[1] In the course of his studies he received grants from the Singer's Development Foundation, the Sullivan Foundation, and the Sergio Franchi Music Foundation.^{[citation needed]}

Valenti made his professional debut at age 25 as Rodolfo in the Franco Zeffirelli production La bohème at the Rome Opera. He went on to perform in many of the world's major opera houses, including La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Opera National de Paris, Sydney Opera House and Opernhaus Zürich. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in March 2010 as Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata in a cast that included Angela Gheorghiu and Thomas Hampson, and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in the same role in June 2010.^[2][3] His roles include the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, Lt. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Werther in Werther and Doctor Faust in Faust.

Awards

• 2010 Richard Tucker Award^[4]
•  2009 Dallas Opera Maria Callas Debut Artist Award^{[citation needed]} 
• 2008 New York City Opera Outstanding Debut Artist^{[citation needed]}
• 2003 Loren Zachary Competition 1st Place Winner^{[citation needed]}  
• 2003 Enrico Caruso Competition 1st Place Winner^{[citation needed]}  
• 2003 Mario Lanza Opera Competition 1st Place Winner^{[citation needed]}  
• 2002, 2003 Opera Index Vocal Competition Winner^[5]  
• 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions 4th Place Winner^[6]
• 2002 The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation 1st Place Award^{[citation needed]}  

Opera roles

• Francesco Cilea
  • Adriana Lecouvreur
    • Washington Concert Opera (Maurizio, 2010)
• Gaetano Donizetti
  • L'elisir d'amore
    • Hamburg State Opera (Nemorino, 2008)
  • Lucia Di Lammermoor
    • Florida Grand Opera (Edgardo, 2005)
• Charles Gounod
  • Faust
    • Opera Carolina (Faust, 2008), Teatro Verdi (Faust, 2005)
  • Roméo et Juliette
    • Minnesota Opera (Romeo, 2008)^[7]
• Jules Massenet
  • Werther
    • With Opera Lyon in Bunkamura Concert Hall, Tokyo (Werther, 2009), Opéra Bastille (Werther, 2010)
• Saverio Mercadante
  • Il giuramento
    • Washington Concert Opera (Viscardo, 2009)^[8]
• Giacomo Puccini
  • La bohème
    • The Minnesota Opera (Rodolfo, 2010), Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria (Rodolfo, 2010), Dallas Opera (Rodolfo, 2009), La Scala (Rodolfo, 2009), Aubade Hall (Rodolfo, 2008), Florida Grand Opera (Rodolfo, 2008), Semperoper (Rodolfo, 2007), New York City Opera (Rodolfo 2006), Teatro Verdi (Rodolfo, 2006)
  • Madama Butterfly
    • Opéra Bastille (Lt. Pinkerton, 2011), Vancouver Opera (Lt. Pinkerton, 2010),^[9] Michigan Opera Theatre (Lt. Pinkerton, 2008), New York City Opera (Lt. Pinkerton, 2008),^[10] San Francisco Opera (Lt. Pinkerton, 2007), Opéra de Marseille (Lt. Pinkerton, 2007), Semperoper (Lt. Pinkerton, 2007), Palm Beach Opera (Lt. Pinkerton, 2007), Teatro Carlo Felice (Lt. Pinkerton, 2006)
• Giuseppe Verdi
  • La Traviata
    • Royal Opera House (Alfredo, 2010), Metropolitan Opera (Alfredo, 2010), Deutsche Oper Berlin (Alfredo, 2009), Korean Opera (Alfredo, 2007), Teatro Pérez Galdós de Las Palmas (Alfredo, 2007), Canadian Opera Company (Alfredo, 2007), La Monnaie (Alfredo, 2006), Hamburg State Opera (Alfredo, 2006), Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Alfredo, 2005)
  • Rigoletto
    • Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Duke of Mantua, 2009), Palm Beach Opera (Duke of Mantua, 2008), Opera Carolina (Il Duca, 2007), Academy of Vocal Arts (Il Duca, 2006)

References

External links

• Official website