Graphic Design: Emma Brigaud
By Niccolo Bechtler
The opportunity to perform and receive music education in the United States
In early 2020, Kinois baritone Samuel Niaty arrived in New Jersey. He was set to be the first participant in the Operanauts Opera Artist Residency, an initiative meant to provide Congolese musicians with the opportunity to perform and receive music education in the United States.
On his second week in the country, however, the pandemic forced the state into lockdown. Performance opportunities disappeared, and many vocal coaches could no longer give in-person instruction.
At the same time, the Congolese borders closed. Samuel was stranded in a foreign country with little hope of getting home.
It was then that Friends of Operanauts showed their true colors, offering Samuel generous financial support, education, and community through a difficult time. With their help, Samuel was able to overcome the challenges of his extended US residency to make major progress as a singer, learning the role of Count Almaviva in Operanauts’s chamber opera FANDANGO! in addition to a full program of opera arias.
After 16 weeks in the US, Samuel was finally able to return to Kinshasa, where he spent 18 months representing Operanauts to recruit singers, musicians, and potential media and venue partners. His first opera music project was to recruit 5 musicians to form a quintet to accompany the soloists in the chamber opera, FANDANGO!
Samuel’s extended residency demonstrates not only his strength and dedication, but also the way that the Operanauts community can come together to support a musician in need. By providing Samuel with music education, financial support, and a sense of community, Operanauts successfully fulfilled its mission despite the myriad challenges of the early pandemic.