American Tenor James Valenti, winner of the prestigious 2010 Richard Tucker Award, has been hailed for having a voice of Italianate beauty, for his handsome stage presence, and for his elegant musicianship in performances with the leading opera companies of the world. He is considered one of his generation’s brightest rising stars. Valenti’s repertoire encompasses the romantic leading roles of both Italian and French repertoire, including Puccini’s Rodolfo in La bohème and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Verdi’s Duke of Mantua and Alfredo, and Gounod’s Roméo and Faust. He is equally at home with the bel canto roles of Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.

The 2009/10 season marks Valenti’s debut with the Metropolitan Opera and The Royal Opera at Covent Garden, both as Alfredo in La traviata opposite Angela Gheorghiu. He portrayed the Duke to open the season of the Maggio Musicale in Florence, before performing Massenet’s Werther with Opera National de Lyon on tour in Tokyo, and covering the same role for the Paris Opera Bastille under the baton of the legendary Maestro Michel Plasson. James performed a gala concert at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and portrayed Rodolfo in La boheme for The Minnesota Opera and at the Palacio Festivales in Santander, Spain with Cristina Gallardo-Domas. He is currently performing Lt. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in Vancouver BC. Last season Valenti made his Dallas Opera debut as Rodolfo, a role he also sang in Japan under Myung-Whun Chung. He gave his first performances of the Verdi Requiem in Bergen, Norway and debuted at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Alfredo. He returned to Palm Beach Opera as the Duke and to Opera Carolina as Faust, and sang Mercadante’s rarely heard Il Giuramento in his Washington Concert Opera debut under Antony Walker. His debut at the Paris Opera will be a highlight of 2010/11.

James Valenti made his debut at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala in 2008 as Rodolfo under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. He has sung this role at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Dresden’s Semperoper, New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra, and for his professional debut in 2003 at the Teatro dell’Opera, Rome. He has portrayed Pinkerton at San Francisco Opera, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova (conducted by Daniel Oren and directed by Renata Scotto), New York City Opera (including an Emmy Award-winning PBS telecast), the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival (under James Conlon), the Opéra de Marseille, Michigan Opera Theater and Palm Beach Opera. His Salzburg Festival debut was as Alfredo in a new Willy Decker production of La traviata opposite Anna Netrebko and Thomas Hampson, conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Other performances of this signature role have been presented at the Theatre Royale de la Monnaie, Brussels, the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, the Hamburg Staatsoper, and the Teatro Comunale in Bologna (under Daniele Gatti). Valenti has sung Faust in Trieste, Roméo with Minnesota Opera, and Nemorino in Hamburg. His repertoire extends to Bernstein’s Candide, and he has also given a recital for the Rosenblatt Series at St. John’s Smith Square in London.

James Valenti studied at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, performing a variety of roles, including the Duke and the title roles in Puccini’s Edgar and Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz. In 2009 he was named Dallas Opera’s Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year, recognizing his outstanding debut in La bohème. He is the recipient of many other awards, including the 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 2002 Licia Albanese-Puccini, 2003 Opera Index, 2003 Mario Lanza, 2004 Violetta Du Pont/Opera Florham, 2004 George London Foundation, 2004 Loren Zachary, and 2004 Caruso International voice competitions. He has received grants from the Singer’s Development Foundation, Sergio Franchi Music Foundation and the Sullivan Foundation. He has performed on German and Austrian national television, in Italy on RAI’s Prima della Prima and also in the USA on A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts.

James resides in Florida when he isn't traversing the globe and continues his studies with Bill Schuman in New York City, Virginia Zeani in Palm Beach, and his coaches at AVA in Philadelphia.