Jeffrey Brown:

The composer of this year’s new opera was 38-year-old Rene Orth, who lives in Philadelphia and was previously a composer-in-residence with the company. “10 Days in a Madhouse,” with a libretto by Hannah Moscovitch, is based on the groundbreaking, if horrifying, true life undercover journalism of Nellie Bly in the 19th century.

For Orth, it continues her efforts to bring women’s stories forward in a traditionally male-centered art form and also to bring in different sounds and instrumentation.

Rene Orth, Composer, “10 Days in a Madhouse”: To me, it’s important to impact as many people as possible. That’s why I throw in dubstep beats or I throw in electronic dance music, but I also include a traditional string quartet waltz.

And I really do believe that if we write music that’s relevant and doesn’t feel archaic, you know, I really believe I can move a lot of people that way.