Valente, Benita (1934– )

US soprano. She studied at the Curtis Institute from 1955 until 1960, and with Margaret Harshaw. She sang at first in concert, making her opera debut at Freiburg in 1962, as Pamina. It was in this role that she made her New York debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1973; she has since returned as Mozart's Countess and Susanna, Ilia, Nannetta, and Almirena in Rinaldo (1985). She has made further appearances throughout the USA as Mimi, Anne Trulove, Violetta, and Mélisande. She sang Ginerva in Ariodante at Santa Fe, in 1987.