JOY CONCOURS Finalists invited to take part in opera atelier
By Niccolo Bechtler
OPERANAUTS RDC was proud to host a week-long opera atelier for singers in Kinshasa this past July. The project was meant to help singers work at a semi-professional level by providing them with training and performance opportunities.
The atelier, or workshop, is a common format for training opera singers in the US that involves collaboratively preparing a full scene from an opera during a series of intensive sessions. It was a new experience for singers in Kinshasa, who were asked to learn a full scene from FANDANGO!, a chamber opera arrangement of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, with help from OPERANAUTS’ pianists, voice teacher, and opera coach. The whole process was recorded for a documentary film Operanauts is making about their work in Kinshasa.
Over the course of six days, atelier participants studied their respective opera roles, learned to interpret the libretto texts, and practiced stage blocking. They also ran through the scene multiple times before a dress rehearsal. On the final day, singers performed the scene to a friendly audience at a restaurant in downtown Kinshasa.
“I was very surprised at the opera in Kinshasa with the Congolese,” said audience member Thierry Awetimbi. “It’s a first for me. I really love it.”
OPERANAUTS invited the 20 finalists from the April 2022 JOY CONCOURS voice competition to take part in the atelier. In the end, ten singers took them up on their offer. To make sure the workshop was accessible, it was offered to participants free of charge.