Benita Valente

Benita Valente (October 19, 1934 – October 24, 2025) was an American soprano in opera, lieder, chamber music and oratorio. She appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1973 through 1992, as Almirena in Handel's Rinaldo, as Mozart's Pamina, Susanna and Ilia, and Verdi's Gilda and Nanetta. She performed and recorded a broad repertoire of lieder, and was particularly interested in contemporary music; several composers wrote music for her. She performed with the Juilliard String Quartet Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 2, earning a 1978 Grammy Award, and Alberto Ginastera's Third String Quartett, written for her. John Rockwell from The New York Times wrote about her in a 1983 recital review: "as gifted a singer as we have today, worldwide". Brahms: Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 (Sony Classical/SME SK 48176) Dallapiccola: Parole di San Paolo, Fono-Candide Haydn: Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze, Sony Richard Wernick: String Quartet No. 5

Awards Valente received a 1978 Grammy Award for her recording of Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 2