Valente was born in Calabria, Italy, where he trained as a fine artist and opera singer. In 1924, he immigrated to the United States where he performed opera in public. However, his singing career did not take off and he pivoted to focus on his photography. In 1931, he became the photographer for the newly formed
Group Theatre, an experimental theatre company based in New York City. By the mid-1930s, Valente was regularly published by magazines and newspapers, most notably
Stage, a magazine dedicated to Broadway theatre. Valente was lauded as one of the leading theatre photographers of the day and his use of artistic camera angles and dramatic lighting became his signature. He also became known for portraying actors and dancers in costume, but not while performing. In addition to Broadway, Valente photographed
American Ballet Theatre (then known as Ballet Theatre) during the company's formative years during the 1940s. He photographed some of Ballet Theatre's most prominent dancers, such as Harold Lang, John Kriza, Alicia Alonso, Nora Kaye, Vera Zorina, Igor Yousketvitch, Alicia Markova, Maria Tallchief, André Eglevsky, and Hugh Laing. Valente also extensively photographed the
Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo when choreographer
Léonide Massine created his most famous works. From 1935 to 1937 Valente worked under contract for
Columbia Pictures, shooting
publicity images. According to his obituary, he coined the term "American Masters". ==Legacy==