The German – Italian soprano Valentina Pennino, born in Mannheim in 1981, completes her Mmus in Opera with honours performing as Zerlina in “Don Giovanni” in 2006 at Mozarteum University in Salzburg where she studied with Prof. KS Lilian Sukis. She participated in Masterclasses to perfectionize her skills, such as with Tom Krause, Robert Holl, Breda Zakotnik, Barbara Schlick, Luciana D’Intino, Cristian Ricci, Donata D’Annunzio Lombardi, Peter Berne, Robert McIver und Jadwiga Rappe.

She is winner of many competitions: Jugend Musiziert in Leipzig (1997), Kiwanis in Mannheim (1999), Takasaki Music Competition in Japan (1999), Competition of Operette in Cracow (2006) inning also the special prize for “The best Czardasz”, International Competition Opera Rinata (2009), International Opera Competition “G. Martinelli-A. Pertile” (2011).

From 2003-2006 Valentina Pennino was a performing member of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation in Salzburg and in 2011 she became a performing member of the Laboratorio Lirico del Veneto “G. Martinelli-A. Pertile” under the direction of the tenor Cristian Ricci.

The same year she was invited to take part in the Ensemble Opera Studio of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova.

Debuts: Belinda (Dido und Aeneas), Livietta (Livietta e Tracollo), Vespina (L'Infedeltà delusa), Susanna and Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Despina (Così fan tutte), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Musetta (La Bohème), Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Carmina Burana, Exsultate Jubilate. She sang in Italy, France, Japan, Scotland, Austria, Poland and Germany – amongst other at the Opera "Unter den Linden" in Berlin, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Teatro Carignano in Turin,  Philarmonic Hall in Ljubljana, National Theater anch Chamber Opera in Cracow, Philarmonic Hall in Rzeszow,  National Theatre and Polish Theatre in Warsaw, Teatro National Theatre in Prague, Opera Heidenheim, Opera in Varese – under the direction of Martin Gester, Marco-Maria Canonica, Rafael Sommer, Tadeusz Wicherek, Hans-Jürgen Schnoor, J. Wallnig e Daniela Candiotto.

In September 2000 she gave a benefit concert together with Margarete Joswig, Jonas Kaufmann and the Frankfurter Philharmonic in support of Foreign Aid India.

Valentina Pennino takes also an interest in contemporary music. She was engaged in November 2009 from the Foundation “Aureaporta” for taking part at the project and show “Era Schaeffera” in the first Festival based on the work of the polish composer Boguslaw Schaeffer. This performance was invited from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to be given in august 2010. Since then till now she took part at each Festival of that kind as singer and actress in Poland, Spain and there are further tours in planning.

Further she is performing regularly in concerts which include opera, Lied, oratorio and chamber music repertoire, like a recital in Napoli and Lied concerts in Vercelli with the pianist Marlena Maciejkowicz performing two programs, one dedicated to Ravel, the other to Gershwin.

In 2006 she founded the Baroque Duo “Lucrezia Duo” with Małgorzata Sarbak as a harpsichordist. They are specialized in “cantate continuo”, such as of Vivaldi, Strozzi, Carissimi and Händel.

Valentina Pennino knows German, Italian, English, French and Polish.

Besides singing she is a passionate dancer of Tango Argentino.