Tapestry Opera’s co-commission and co-production with Opera Philadelphia, 10 Days in a Madhouse, has won the 2024 Music Critics Association of North America award for BEST NEW OPERA. This accolade follows last year’s triumph when Tapestry Opera received the same award for RUR: A Torrent of Light, becoming the first Canadian work to do so. The recognition reaffirms Tapestry Opera’s commitment to groundbreaking and compelling storytelling through music.

The Best New Opera award goes to composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch for 10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE. The award recognizes musical and theatrical excellence and is given annually to an operatic world premiere presented in North America the previous calendar year.

Commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and Tapestry Opera, 10 Days had its world premiere at Opera Philadelphia as part of Festival O23 in September 2023 at the Wilma Theater. Opera Philadelphia has a stellar history of producing compelling and successful new operas, and 10 Days in a Madhouse now joins Breaking the Waves (by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek) and The Wake World (by David Hertzberg), both Opera Philadelphia commissions, in the Best New Opera pantheon.

An Awards Committee of distinguished music critics determines the Best New Opera Award. It reflects MCANA’s overarching mission to recognize distinctive achievements and, through its web publication Classical Voice North America, communicate the richness of musical life in the U.S. and Canada at a time when classical music coverage in traditional print media is shrinking.

10 Days in a Madhouse is a psychological opera inspired by the life of Nellie Bly, a trailblazing reporter who, in 1887, faked madness in order to be admitted to Blackwell’s Asylum for the Insane and to report on conditions from the inside. It uses her story to explore how insanity has been used as an operatic conceit and as a way to control non-compliant women, exposing—as Nellie Bly herself did—the feminization of madness, the bias of doctors against the sanity of women and how the systems and social structures in which women find themselves induce madness.

The opera was received with great acclaim. The New York Times hailed it as a pillar of the form, stating that “opera needs works like 10 Days, which treats the medium with affection and respect while also chafing at its tropes throughout history.” The Wall Street Journal praised the libretto and music, writing, “Ms. Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch trenchantly explore how female insanity has been used both as an operatic trope and as a way to label and control non-compliant women.” Opera News wrote: “Orth orchestrates superbly…This gripping new opera deserves wide circulation.” Observer stated, “10 Days in a Madhouse is a rare piece: a contemporary opera whose subject, story, music and execution are both intelligent and moving.”

In response to winning the award, composer Rene Orth said:

“I am so grateful for the MCANA jury to recognize 10 Days in a Madhouse with such a prestigious honor. Hannah and I set out to write something surprisingly rare in the operatic tradition—a work that didn’t focus on women suffering trauma and death, but rather strength and perseverance against the continued societal biases working against us. I’m thrilled that the piece has resonated with so many people. An especially huge thank you to director Joanna Settle, conductor Daniela Candillari, sound designer Rob Kaplowitz, Opera Philadelphia’s Director of New Works Sarah Williams, and the insanely talented cast, chorus, and orchestra—all for their full commitment to our risk-taking and storytelling in bringing this piece to life.”

Statement from the MCANA Awards Committee:

“Drawing from reporter Nelly Bly’s exposé of conditions at the insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island), this searing chamber opera explores how insanity has been used as an operatic trope and as a way to control non-compliant women. The ingenious libretto structures the narrative in reverse: it opens with Bly’s 10th day in the asylum, where she went undercover, and over 90 intense minutes reassembles the disordered elements of her institution-induced breakdown into a recognizable story. Text fragments, choral hazes, and electronics are among the techniques used to unmoor the narrative from rationality; yet the characters remain strong and musically distinctive throughout. Taut, original, and affecting, 10 Days in a Madhouse works on multiple levels – theatrical, thematic, and human.”

MCANA’S BEST NEW OPERA AWARD

The year 2024 marks the seventh MCANA Award for Best New Opera. It honours musical and theatrical excellence in a fully staged opera that received its world premiere in North America during the preceding calendar year. The award is one of the few in the world that simultaneously recognize both composer and librettist.

After MCANA members submit nominations, the finalists are chosen by an Awards Committee co-chaired by Heidi Waleson, opera critic of The Wall Street Journal, and George Loomis, longtime contributor to the Financial Times and Musical America—alongside MCANA president Arthur Kaptainis, contributor to Ludwig van Toronto and former music critic of the Montreal Gazette; and committee members John Rockwell, former critic and arts editor of The New York Times and a regular correspondent for Opera (UK) and Musical America; and Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker.

MCANA’s Best New Opera Award has an illustrious track record. The 2017 inaugural award went to Missy Mazzoli (composer) and Royce Vavrek (librettist) for Breaking the Waves; the 2018 Award went to composer-librettist David Hertzberg for The Wake World; the 2019 Award went to Ellen Reid (composer) and Roxy Perkins (librettist) for p r i s m; the 2020 Award went to Jeanine Tesori (composer) and Tazewell Thompson (librettist) for Blue; the 2021 Award went to Raven Chacon (composer), Du Yun (composer), Aja Couchois Duncan (librettist), and Douglas Kearney (librettist) for Sweet Land; and the 2023 Award went to Nicole Lizée (composer) and Nicolas Billon (librettist) for R.U.R. A Torrent of Light.

RENE ORTH

Rene Orth—“a master composer” with a “sophisticated sound world” (Classical Voice North America)—writes music described as “always dramatic, reflective, rarely predictable, and often electronic” (Musical America). She recently completed a three-year tenure as Composer-In-Residence at Opera Philadelphia.

Last season, Opera Philadelphia presented the “triumphant world premiere” (Wall Street Journal) of 10 Days in a Madhouse, co-commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and Tapestry Opera. Other projects include a song cycle for Vocal Arts DC and mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, premiering at The Kennedy Center; a new song, "A Prayer", for baritone Will Liverman and mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges; and an electronics and voice piece for mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis’ forthcoming debut album, "Stand the Storm." The Chautauqua Institution also premieres "Love, Loss, and the Century Upon Us" (libretto by Jerre Dye) with a 13-piece orchestra.

HANNAH MOSCOVITCH

Hannah Moscovitch is an acclaimed playwright and TV-writer based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has written sixteen plays, including East of Berlin, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes and This is War, and she’s been honored with numerous awards, among them the Governor General’s Award, the Nova Scotia MasterWorks Arts Award and the prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize.

Hannah’s music-theatre hybrid Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (co-created with Christian Barry and Ben Caplan) became a Time Out and New York Times Critic’s Pick, winning both the Herald Angel and a Scotsman Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and receiving six Drama Desk Award nominations in New York. Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story recently crossed the 400 performances line.

In television, Hannah is the Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Head Writer of Little Bird alongside showrunner Jennifer Podemski, on CTV/Crave and APTN Lumi in Canada and PBS in the USA. Little Bird has garnered a landslide of awards and critical praise, including the Prix Public or Audience Award at the international TV festival, Series Mania, in Lille, France, and 13 Canadian Screen Award including Best Drama Series. Most recently, Hannah was Co-Executive Producer on Season One and Season Two of AMC’s hit series Interview with The Vampire.

TAPESTRY OPERA

Tapestry Opera is an award-winning Toronto-based company dedicated to creating, developing, and performing original Canadian opera. Tapestry is passionate about uniquely Canadian stories, told in innovative settings, unforgettably interpreted by world-class artists. Tapestry supports emerging artists, develops new audiences and brings Canadian opera to the world stage. Founded in 1979, Tapestry is the voice of original contemporary Canadian opera.

Photo: The “Madwomen” of 10 Days in a Madhouse with Kiera Duffy (right) as Nellie. © 2023 Dominic M. Mercer.