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In May 2023, she performed alongside pianist Genc Tukiçi at a fundraising concert in New York's Town Hall to bolster the program, an effort that aligns with its ongoing activities extending into 2024 and 2025.[61] This involvement underscores her role in fostering cultural ties among younger generations abroad.[50]In 2024, she was honored as a "Peace Ambassador" by the Albanian Coalition Woman Peace Security for her artistic contributions and advocacy in promoting peace and international cooperation through music.[62] Mula has long supported Kosovo's inclusion in UNESCO.[63]Mula faced a legal challenge in 2024 when accused of copyright infringement, but the Tirana District Court declared her innocent, resolving the case in her favor.[64] In June 2025, she participated in the launch of the World Park for Peace in Dubai, UAE, lending her support to this global initiative that uses children's art to symbolize unity and hope amid international tensions.[65] On August 5, 2025, Mula performed in the concert "Melodies of the Mediterranean" at the Ancient Amphitheatre of Durrës, featuring duos with Ekland and Redi Hasa and the children's choir "Okarina."[31] These activities reflect her continued dedication to cultural diplomacy and humanitarian causes post-2020.
Awards and recognition
Competition victories
Inva Mula's competitive career began with her victory in the Cantante d'Albania competition in Tirana in 1987, marking her first major national recognition as an emerging soprano talent in Albania.[66] This win highlighted her lyrical soprano voice and established her as a promising artist within the Albanian music scene at the time.[13]The following year, in 1988, Mula achieved early international acclaim by winning the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest, Romania, a prestigious event that showcased her vocal technique and stage presence to a broader audience.[15] This success underscored her growing reputation beyond Albania's borders and opened doors for further opportunities in Eastern Europe.[67]In 1992, Mula secured first prize at the Butterfly Competition in Barcelona, Spain, an event specifically dedicated to lyrical and coloratura roles inspired by Puccini's Madama Butterfly, aligning closely with her vocal strengths in bel canto repertoire.[18] The Grand Prix win affirmed her specialization in dramatic lyric soprano parts and propelled her toward Western European engagements.[68]Her breakthrough on the global stage came in 1993 when she was named a winner at the inaugural Operalia International Opera Competition in Paris, hosted by Plácido Domingo, where she competed against top young opera singers worldwide and received acclaim for her interpretation of key arias.[19] This victory, shared with soprano Ainhoa Arteta, was pivotal in launching her international career, leading to invitations for major opera houses.[21]Honors and tributes
Inva Mula received the Gramophone Award for Record of the Year in 1997 for her portrayal of Lisette in Giacomo Puccini's La rondine, conducted by Antonio Pappano with the London Symphony Orchestra on the EMI label.[7] This accolade, shared with principal artists Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, highlighted the recording's excellence in the opera category and marked a significant international recognition early in her career.[69]In acknowledgment of her contributions to the arts, Mula was appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2006, an honor bestowed for her exceptional achievements as a soprano promoting cultural exchange.[4] Similarly, in 2021, the Italian Embassy in Tirana awarded her the Order of the Star of Italy in the rank of Officer, recognizing her role in strengthening cultural ties between Albania and Italy through her performances and advocacy.[70]Within Albania, Mula has been celebrated for elevating national music on the global stage, earning the title of Citizen of Honor from the city of Shkodër for her album of Albanian folk songs performed with the Quartet Gaudi.[4] In 2012, she was named Best Lyrical Performer at the Kult Awards for her leading role in The Tales of Hoffmann.[71] More recently, on July 9, 2024, the Albanian Coalition for Women, Peace, and Security honored her as a Peace Ambassador, praising her use of music to foster international cooperation and understanding as a source of national pride.[62]Mula's vocal performance in the 1997 film The Fifth Element, where she sang an adapted aria from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor as the alien diva Plavalaguna, has endured as a cultural tribute, blending operatic tradition with cinematic innovation and earning acclaim for exposing her artistry to broader audiences.[50] In 2024, she participated in the OriginAL Program in New York, performing to support Albanian diaspora youth in reconnecting with their cultural heritage, further underscoring her ongoing tributes through advocacy and performance.[52]Articles on Albanian Singers, Including: Inva Mula, Agim Hushi, Anjeza Shahini, Anita Bitri, Eli Fara, Kristaq Antoniu, Leonora Jakupi, Pirro Ako, Led
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The latest success is the second edition of the “MIK” Festival of Korça (July 19) created and directed by Inva Mula. Her vocal contribution aligned with her expertise in lyrical soprano performances, though specifics of the scenes remain limited in public records.Mula has made several television appearances, primarily in Albania, where she has participated in interviews discussing her career and personal life.
Her father, Avni Mula (1928–2020), was a renowned KosovoAlbanian opera singer and composer from Gjakova, who studied at the Moscow Conservatory and became a leading figure in Albanianopera and folk music composition.[10] Her mother, Nina Mula (1931–2011), was a Russian opera singer from Izhevsk, whom Avni met while studying in Moscow; she also performed extensively in Albania's state-supported opera scene.[5]Raised in an artistic household, Mula was immersed in music from a young age, with her parents' careers shaping the home environment in Tirana.[4] She began piano lessons and gave her first concert at the age of five, reflecting the familial emphasis on performance and vocal arts.[4] The Mula family home served as a hub for musical activity, where discussions and practice sessions centered on opera and composition, fostering her innate interest in singing amid the constraints of communist Albania's cultural institutions.[11]Her parents' professional lives profoundly influenced Mula's early passion for music, as she followed in their footsteps as lyrical sopranos and tenors in Albania's national opera tradition.[8] Avni Mula's compositions and Nina Mula's performances provided direct models, inspiring Mula to pursue vocal training and embedding opera within her childhood experiences in a society where music was both a personal pursuit and a state-endorsed art form.[8] This heritage laid the groundwork for her development, transitioning naturally toward formal musical education.
Musical training
Inva Mula's musical journey began in her childhood in Tirana, where her parents, both accomplished opera singers, recognized her vocal talent early on and nurtured it through initial piano and voice training.[12] At the age of five, she performed her first concert, marking the start of her appearances as a child soprano in local settings during the 1970s.[13]By her mid-teens, Mula commenced formal singing lessons at age sixteen, initially under the guidance of her mother, Nina Mula, a renowned soprano and voice teacher of Russian origin who had been a principal artist at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Tirana.[14] This mentorship, deeply influenced by her family's extensive connections within Albania's opera community, provided a strong foundation in vocal technique amid the country's cultural isolation.[12]In her late teens, Mula enrolled at the Academy of Arts in Tirana—Albania's premier conservatory for musical education—where she pursued comprehensive studies in vocal arts and piano, graduating with an examination performance in the role of Violetta from Verdi's La Traviata.[12] During this period, under the constrained artistic environment of communist Albania, she honed her lyric soprano capabilities, focusing on bel canto precision and coloratura agility through rigorous local instruction, as international influences were largely inaccessible until the regime's fall.[15] These years solidified her technical prowess, emphasizing breath control and tonal purity suited to the lyric repertoire.[14]Professional career
Early competitions and debut
Inva Mula's early career gained momentum through a series of national and international singing competitions that showcased her lyric soprano talent during Albania's transition from communist isolation.This success brought other engagements at La Scala for the roles of Violetta, Gilda, Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Manon in Massenet’s Manon.
Inva Mula naturally came back to singing the role of Violetta and was unanimously acclaimed by the international press, especially for her “empathy and high sensitivity interpreting this famous worldwide well known role” at the Opéra national de Montpellier, the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Opéra de Nice, the Staatsoper Berlin, the Opéra de Paris, the Royal Opera House in London, the Chorégies d’Orange, the Toronto Opera House, Tokyo Opera, the Teatro Verdi Trieste, the Teatro Real Madrid, the Bilbao Opera, the Wiener Staatsoper.
Inva Mula is known for her capacity to embody roles of Italian Bel Canto as well as French heroines whom occupy a very important part her repertoire.
Her career was also successful in Spanish theatres such as Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Seville, where she had a great success singing the role of Amelia in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with her mentor Placido Domingo and Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Paggliacci alongside José Cura.
She has won equal success in concert halls and international festivals in New York, Moscow, San Petersburg, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Ljubljana, Paris, Geneva, Tirana, led by the prestigious conductors such as Michel Plasson, George Prêtre, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Vladimir Spivakov, Zubin Mehta, Myung-Whun Chung.
In November 2012 she directed and sang the jubilee concert of the Independence of Albania.
The role was physically portrayed by French actress Maïwenn Le Besco, with Mula's vocals recorded separately and integrated via dubbing to sync with the character's CGI-animated movements during the film's climactic opera sequence. Inva Mula began taking piano lessons and performed her first concert at the age of five. As part of the festivities, the President of the Republic of Albania granted her with one the most honorific titles of the country, “Honor of the Nation.”
A new CD entitled “Per Ty Atdhe” was then recorded in collaboration with orchestra RTV Ljubljana and she started a series of concerts in Kosovo and Macedonia.
She also appeared on Balkanweb's "Chic" program in September 2025, sharing insights into her involvement in cultural festivals and family priorities.[47] Additional engagements include discussions on ABC NewsAlbania in 2019 about her experiences during national crises and a 2024 Telegrafi feature on investing in youth education.[48][49]In May 2023, Mula performed at a fundraisingconcert in New York City's Town Hall to support the OriginAL Program, an initiative by the Global Albanians Foundation aimed at connecting Albanian diaspora youth with their cultural roots through education and arts.[50][51] Accompanied by tenor Genc Tukiçi and band, the event highlighted her commitment to philanthropy, raising awareness and funds for the program's ongoing cohorts into 2025.[52]Mula has engaged in public media through advocacy efforts, including support for cancer awareness via the Albanians Fighting Cancer organization, where she performed at their 2023 Boston gala and praised their impact on affected families.[53] She has also shared perspectives on family life and cultural preservation in interviews, emphasizing grounded values beyond her stage persona.[54]In Albanian media, Mula has taken on minor roles and cameos, such as directing and performing in local productions like the 2016 International Opera Festival "Marije Kraja" on RTSH, blending her expertise with national broadcasting.[55]
Personal life
Marriages and family
Inva Mula was first married to the Albanian singer and composer Pirro Çako in 1987.[56] During this period, she professionally used the name Inva Mula-Tchako.[57] The couple had a son, Anthony, born in 1995 in Paris, and they divorced in 2010 after 23 years together.[58][56]Mula later married Kosovo businessman Hetem Ramadani.[49] They have a daughter, Nina, born in 2012 in Paris.[49][59]The family primarily resides in Paris but maintains strong connections to Albania through frequent visits and cultural engagements.[49] In 2024, Mula shared social media photos publicly introducing her son and daughter, highlighting family moments during her daughter's birthday celebration.[60][59]Advocacy and recent activities
Inva Mula has demonstrated a strong commitment to Albanian cultural preservation and youth engagement through her support for initiatives like the OriginAL program, which reconnects Albanian diaspora youth with their heritage.We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. In 1994, she made her debut at the Paris Opera in Michaela, Carmen de Bizet. This exposure bridged classical music and mainstream cinema, inspiring subsequent covers and tributes while establishing the performance as an iconic fusion of genres that broadened opera's cultural reach.[42]
Other media appearances
Inva Mula portrayed the role of Nannetta in the 2001 film adaptation of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Falstaff, directed by Giuseppe Bertolucci and recorded live at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto, Italy.[43][44] Her performance contributed to the production's blend of operatic staging and cinematic elements, featuring a cast including Ambrogio Maestri as Falstaff and conducted by Daniele Gatti.[22]In 2010, Mula provided a voice role in the French action film 22 Bullets (original title: L'Immortel), directed by Richard Berry and starring Jean Reno.The recordings occurred in Paris, where the production was primarily based, enabling close collaboration between Mula, Besson, and Serra to merge classical soprano techniques with sci-fi sound design. Beyond opera, her film contribution in The Fifth Element—composed by Éric Serra—blended classical technique with futuristic alien song, reaching a global audience.[7][8]
Early life and education
Family background
Inva Mula was born on June 27, 1963, in Tirana, Albania.[9] She grew up in a musically prominent family during the communist era in Albania, a period marked by state control over arts and culture from 1944 to 1991.She was given the “Citizen of Honor” title by the city of Shkodër during the promotion of her CD of Albanian folk songs performed with the Quartet Gaudi.
Since the beginning of her career, the performances she gives with her incredible artistic personality have the faculty to touch the audience souls’ through singing.
In spring 2015, Inva Mula worked the first time as a stage director, signing a production of Pagliacci at the Albanian National Opera, Tirana while singing at the same time the part of Nedda.
This technical fusion allowed the diva's ethereal performance to serve as a narrative device, concealing vital plot elements within her song while enhancing the movie's blend of high opera and futuristic spectacle.[1][38]Mula's contribution featured a medley of the traditional aria "Il dolce suono" from Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and the original composition "Diva Dance," crafted by the film's composer Éric Serra at Besson's request.
Hephaestus Books represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. This innovative approach aimed to create an otherworldly operatic highlight that elevated the scene's visual and auditory drama, distinguishing The Fifth Element as a space opera that reveres vocal artistry amid its action-packed narrative.[39][40]The vocal demands proved exceptionally challenging, particularly for "Diva Dance," which Serra intentionally composed with extreme pitch shifts and intervals defying human vocal physiology to evoke an alien essence.
Following several victories in singing competitions, she decided to pursue a career abroad, and moved to France in 1992. She soon received many awards and recognition from the public and her songs and interpretations growingly became famous to people of her generation.
She studied singing at the Conservatory of Tirana, then began her career in Albania.
This double performance of great involvement was higly praised by the audience and the international press.