Ryan Nauta

2021 Holding Space Coordinator

Pronouns: he/him

When I am asked the question “Why did you want to pursue a career in opera/the arts?”, I often give a very rote answer, on how it allows me to imagine myself as any other person in time and how that is exciting to me. While true, this is not a fair answer, in that it omits the fact that there simply are no roles imagined for a person with my social identities in the conventional operatic canon. I thought that the most meaningful way for me to engage in this art form would require me to constantly step outside of myself and my experiences.

Music and theatre have been a part of my life since childhood. Whether it was singing in a local choir or learning to play the piano or acting on stage in community theatre, the act of creating music and art gave me a sense of fulfillment. Part of what motivates me now is that I want to create a place for people of diverse identities to have that sense of fulfillment as well.

I am thrilled to be working with Amplified Opera with their Holding Space program. It is extremely meaningful to me to be able to create a place where BIPOC artists are able to come and talk about their experiences and how they envisage the future of this industry. I hope that we are able to have conversations in which my colleagues are able to speak frankly about what we need in this time of social change, and how we as opera artists can effect that change.