Costumes for the Joy Happenings CONGO YETU concert on Saturday, April 9, 2022 will be produced and tailored by TEXICO, S.A., a textile uniform company known for manufacturing business uniforms for soldiers, police, and healthcare workers.
In January 2022, Operanauts representatives Dorcas NENDE and Diego TARA approached TEXICO to ask if the company would be interested in costuming the Mozart CONGO YETU concert. They obliged, agreeing to produce 59 bespoke outfits for the event, including costumes for 4 soloists, 30 choristers, and 20 musicians.
The CONGO YETU ensemble will be outfitted with Congolese pagne cloth, recognizable by saturated colors and bold patterns. The men of the cast will wear a straight-line oversize gilet with a lapel neck, and the women will model a bolero jacket over a wrap-around skirt. The costumes will combine the sewing machines and tailoring expertise of TEXICO with Congolese textiles and American sewing patterns.
Operanauts Artistic Director Joy Bechtler thanked TEXICO, S.A. for their generosity and creativity with the costumes.
“We are grateful for their partnership in our mission to use opera music as a tool to help communities that are traumatized by violence and poverty across Congo,” Bechtler said, “to heal and grow through empathy and community building.”
For more information about Texico, S.A., visit http://www.texicosa.com/.