{"id":911,"date":"2026-08-18T15:28:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T15:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/?p=911"},"modified":"2026-08-18T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T15:35:13","slug":"vinopera-2026-valentina-nafornita-celebrates-15-years-of-her-career-with-a-homecoming-performance-in-moldova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/vinopera-2026-valentina-nafornita-celebrates-15-years-of-her-career-with-a-homecoming-performance-in-moldova\/","title":{"rendered":"VinOpera 2026: Valentina Naforni\u021ba celebrates 15 years of her career with a homecoming performance in Moldova"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On September 4, the <strong>Constantin Mimi Foundation<\/strong> will present the ninth edition of <strong>VinOpera International Classical Music Festival<\/strong>, held annually at Castel Mimi in Bulboaca, near Chi\u0219in\u0103u.<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 edition is dedicated to <strong>Valentina Naforni\u021ba<\/strong>, one of Moldova\u2019s most internationally acclaimed opera singers, as she celebrates 15 years of her career.<\/p>\n<p>Winner of <strong>BBC Cardiff Singer of the World<\/strong> in 2011 and a former member of the <strong>Vienna State Opera ensemble<\/strong>, Naforni\u021ba has performed on leading opera stages across Europe. Fifteen years after her international breakthrough, VinOpera brings her back home to Moldova for an anniversary performance.<\/p>\n<p>She will be joined by <strong>Ukrainian baritone Iurii Samoilov<\/strong>, who returns to VinOpera after his previous appearance at the festival in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The two soloists will perform alongside the <strong>Camerata Chi\u0219in\u0103u Orchestra<\/strong>, conducted by <strong>Cristian Sp\u0103taru<\/strong>, in an open-air programme of classical and operatic repertoire.<\/p>\n<h2>VinOpera \u2013 bringing Moldova to the world through culture<\/h2>\n<p>Launched in <strong>2017<\/strong>, VinOpera is one of the flagship cultural projects of the Constantin Mimi Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>The festival was created around the idea that music can become an ambassador for Moldova and that the country\u2019s cultural and architectural heritage can provide a setting for experiences with international appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Across its previous editions, the festival has welcomed internationally recognised artists alongside Moldovan musicians, as well as audiences from Moldova and abroad.<\/p>\n<p>For the Constantin Mimi Foundation, VinOpera is also a way of presenting Moldova as a cultural and travel destination, connecting international audiences with the country through music, local wine, gastronomy and heritage.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cFor the Constantin Mimi Foundation, VinOpera is more than a concert. It is our way of presenting Moldova through culture, through the artists who represent us and through places with a strong identity, such as Castel Mimi. We want the festival to introduce audiences to a Moldova that is vibrant, talented and connected to the international cultural scene.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cristina Frolov, President of the Constantin Mimi Foundation<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>A historic setting for an international festival<\/h2>\n<p>VinOpera takes place at<a href=\"https:\/\/castelmimi.md\/en\/events\/vinopera\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Castel Mimi<\/a>, a historic wine estate founded in 1893 by Constantin Mimi, one of the pioneers of Moldovan winemaking.<\/p>\n<p>Located in Bulboaca, approximately 40 minutes from Chi\u0219in\u0103u, Castel Mimi is today one of Moldova\u2019s best-known wine tourism destinations.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, Castel Mimi hosted the second European Political Community Summit, bringing European heads of state and government to the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n<p>For international visitors, the festival can become part of a cultural weekend in Moldova, combining the performance with wine tourism, local gastronomy and time in Chi\u0219in\u0103u.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Discover Moldova through Opera and Wine | VinOpera 2026\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b6wLgw6_UM4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>VinOpera 2026<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Date:<\/strong> September 4, 2026<br \/>\n<strong>Venue:<\/strong> Castel Mimi, Bulboaca, Republic of Moldova<br \/>\n<strong>Festival:<\/strong> VinOpera International Classical Music Festival \u2013 9th edition<\/p>\n<p><strong>Featuring:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Valentina Naforni\u021ba<\/strong> \u2014 soprano<\/li>\n<li><strong>Iurii Samoilov<\/strong> \u2014 Ukrainian baritone<\/li>\n<li><strong>Camerata Chi\u0219in\u0103u Orchestra<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Cristian Sp\u0103taru<\/strong> \u2014 conductor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Organizer:<\/strong> Constantin Mimi Foundation<\/p>\n<h2>Media enquiries<\/h2>\n<p>Interviews with <strong>Valentina Naforni\u021ba, Iurii Samoilov, Cristian Sp\u0103taru<\/strong> can be facilitated ahead of the September 4 performance, subject to their schedule.<\/p>\n<p>Press images, the musical programme and additional information about VinOpera are available upon request.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Press contact:<\/strong><br \/>\nGeorgeta Carasiucenco<br \/>\nPR Manager \/ VinOpera \/ Constantin Mimi Foundation<br \/>\nemail: georgeta.carasiucenco@castelmimi.md<\/p>\n<h2>Event information and tickets<\/h2>\n<p>Event information: <a href=\"https:\/\/castelmimi.md\/en\/events\/vinopera\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">castelmimi.md<\/a><br \/>\nTickets: <a href=\"https:\/\/iticket.md\/en\/event\/vinopera-aniversare-valentina-nafornita\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iTicket.md<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On September 4, the Constantin Mimi Foundation will present the ninth edition of VinOpera International Classical Music Festival, held annually at Castel Mimi in Bulboaca, near Chi\u0219in\u0103u. The 2026 edition is dedicated to Valentina Naforni\u021ba, one of Moldova\u2019s most internationally acclaimed opera singers, as she celebrates 15 years of her career. Winner of BBC Cardiff [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":917,"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911\/revisions\/917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/constantinmimi.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}