New opera doesn’t begin on opening night.
It starts earlier.
With an idea, a question, a risk… and with someone choosing to believe in it.
We invite you to be that person.
🎶 It Starts With You, our spring fundraising campaign is now live.
From now until June 30, your support helps:
👉 Develop new Canadian operas like 10 Days in a Madhouse
👉 Sustain the Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre
👉 Support the next generation of women musical leaders
Because great opera doesn’t just happen.
It starts with you.
🔗 Donate through the link in our bio.
#ItStartsWithYou #TapestryOpera #NewOpera #SupportTheArts
We are counting down to opening night of 10 Days in a Madhouse with 72 facts about Nellie Bly!
35. The Dress: Her iconic checked coat and "ghillie" cap became a fashion trend during her trip. �
36. Currency: She carried her money ($2,500) in a bag tied around her neck.�
37. The Famous Author: In France, she detoured to meet Jules Verne himself; he told her, "If you do it in 79 days, I shall applaud with both hands."�
38. The Route: She traveled through England, France, Italy, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.�
39. The Monkey: In Singapore, she bought a monkey named "McGinty" who accompanied her for the rest of the journey.
40. The Guessing Game: The New York World ran a contest for readers to guess her exact arrival time; nearly 1 million people entered.
10 Days in a Madhouse
A Tapestry Opera and Opera Philadelphia co-commission and co-production, co-presented with the Luminato Festival and the Canadian Opera Company.
June 16-21, 2026
🎟 Link in bio!
#Opera #CanadianOpera #NewMusic #OperaSingersofInstagram
🎶 Every new opera starts somewhere.
Before the stage, before the lights, before opening night — new Canadian opera shorts come to life at LIBLAB, Tapestry’s flagship new works development program.
But these early moments of creation are fragile.
For seedling ideas to take root and grow into mainstage productions, they need the support of community members like you.
As Tapestry’s 25–26 season comes to a close, we invite you to support the earliest stages of creation — because the future of opera starts with you.
Above, composer Saman Shahi (@shahipiano ) shares about his LIBLAB 2025 experience, and the creative moments donor support makes possible.
👉 Donate through the link in our bio
#ItStartsWithYou #TapestryOpera #NewOpera #CanadianArtists #SupportTheArts
Meet the creators behind 10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE
🌟 Hannah Moscovitch, Librettist
One of Canada’s most celebrated living playwrights, Hannah Moscovitch is the award-winning writer behind EAST OF BERLIN, OLD STOCK: A REFUGEE LOVE STORY, and SEXUAL MISCONDUCT OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES, which earned the Governor General’s Award for Drama.
Drawn to opera for its “madness,” Moscovitch describes the art form as unlike any other medium she’s written for — where language bends to music, storytelling rules are shattered, and “some aspects of storytelling can be jettisoned completely.” (Ludwig Van Toronto)
🌟 Rene Orth, Composer
Described by Classical Voice North America as “a master composer” with a “sophisticated sound world,” Rene Orth creates music that is “always dramatic, reflective, rarely predictable, and often electronic.” Orth recently completed a three-year tenure as Composer-In-Residence at Opera Philadelphia, and her opera 10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE won the 2024 Best New Opera Award from the Music Critics Association of North America.
🎟️ Don’t miss this gripping new opera inspired by journalist Nellie Bly’s groundbreaking investigation. June 16 – 21.
✨ A @tapestryopera and @operaphila co-commission and co-production, co-presented with @luminatofestival and the @canadianopera Company.
“Without knowledge I’ll never be more than a glorified coffee-serving, puzzle-completing, hello-world-spelling little box of bolts.”
The fictional tech company R.U.R., founded by couple Helena and Dom, dominates the A.I. software market and powers the now-ubiquitous androids that serve their human owners. As Dom becomes more focused on growing R.U.R’s profits, Helena’s creative research leads to an unexpected technological breakthrough that pits the couples’ visions squarely against each other. They’ve reached a turning point for humanity, but is humanity ready?
R.U.R. A Torrent of Light (Nicole Lizée & Nicolas Billon) was premiered 4 years ago by Tapestry Opera and OCAD University. The production won 6 Dora awards, including Outstanding New Opera (Nicole Lizée & Nicolas Billon), Outstanding Direction (Michael Hidetoshi Mori), and Outstanding Production.
Photo by Elana Emer, featuring Emily Spearing, Scott Belluz, and Katherine Semchuk
Explore R.U.R. and other exciting pieces on the Canadian Opera Resource!
Image description: Three people in futuristic black and white outfits with glowing collars look off into the distance.
#canadianopera #newopera
We are counting down to opening night of 10 Days in a Madhouse with 72 facts about Nellie Bly!
29. The Pitch: In 1888, she suggested to her editor that she could beat Jules Verne’s fictional record of 80 days.
30. Skepticism: Her editor initially said, “No, a woman can’t do it. She would need a protector and too much luggage.”
31. The Ultimatum: Bly told him, “Start the man, and I’ll start the same day for another newspaper and beat him.” He gave in.
32. The Rivalry: Cosmopolitan magazine sent their own reporter, Elizabeth Bisland, in the opposite direction to race her.
33. Departure: She left New Jersey on November 14, 1889.
34. Minimalist: She carried only one dress, a sturdy overcoat, and a small hand grip (bag) for the entire trip.
10 Days in a Madhouse
A Tapestry Opera and Opera Philadelphia co-commission and co-production, co-presented with the Luminato Festival and the Canadian Opera Company.
June 16-21, 2026
🎟️Link in bio
#Opera #CanadianOpera #NewMusic #OperaSingersofInstagram
🌟 Jorell Williams as Dr. Josiah Blackwell in 10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE.
Praised by Opera News for his “solid vocal core” and by Broadway World as “a deliciously resonant baritone voice,” Jorell Williams brings commanding presence to stages across North America.
This season, he appears in the Canadian premiere of 10 DAYS IN A MADHOUSE in Toronto.
🎟️ Don’t miss his performance this June. Link in bio.
✨ A @tapestryopera and @operaphila co-commission and co-production, co-presented with @luminatofestival and the @canadianopera Company.
Hannah Moskovitch, librettist of the gripping psychological opera 10 Days in a Madhouse, is an acclaimed playwright, librettist, and TV writer. Hannah has been dubbed “an indie sensation” by Toronto Life Magazine; “the wunderkind of Canadian theatre” by CBC Radio; “irritatingly talented” by Eye Weekly; and the “dark angel of Toronto theatre” by The Toronto Star.
Hannah has been honoured with numerous awards, including the Trillium Book Award, both the Herald Angel and a Scotsburn Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival, the Nova Scotia MasterWorks Award, The Toronto Critics Award, the Dora Mavor Moore Award, and the prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize administered by Yale (she is the first Canadian playwright to win the prize). She’s twice been a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, and twice for the Siminovitch Prize, as well as the international Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (co-created with Ben Caplan and Christian Barry), was nominated for six Drama Desk Awards after it toured to New York City, playing off-Broadway for seven weeks, and was named a Critic's Pick by The New York Times and Timeout Magazine. Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story has been touring internationally for two years, and upcoming tour stops include Washington, Moscow and Shanghai.
Hannah’s other work for the stage includes Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, East of Berlin, This is War, Little One, The Russian Play, Infinity, Bunny, What a Young Wife Ought to Know and Hannah's first confessional work, Secret Life of a Mother (co-created with Maev Beaty and Ann-Marie Kerr). Her plays have been widely produced across Canada, as well as in the United States, Britain, Europe, Australia and Japan. Hannah is a Playwright-in-Residence at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.
Explore Hannah's works and other exciting pieces on the Canadian Opera Resource!
Photo by Alejandro Santiago
During the past 2 unforgettable weeks, I had the honor to collaborate with a remarkable group of artists — singers, musicians, creative minds, and collaborators whom I now call my musical family. We came together and brought my full opera The Refugees to life. I feel deeply grateful as each of you carried this work with such sensitivity, understanding the weight of what it means. I learned from each one of you. Your perspectives, your instincts, your artistry- all of it shaped this piece in ways I could not have imagined. Could not wish for a better team.
And beyond the work, I grew to truly love you as individuals. These days were not just about creating an opera — they were about building new friendships, and connections.
I already miss you all. But I know in my heart this is not an ending. This is the beginning of a much larger journey for The Refugees — and I’m so grateful we began it together.
With all my heart, thank you🙏🏻♥️ specially to my sisters Liza Balkan and to Jennifer Wise for all her efforts and fundraising, and to all my colleagues and mentors at @tapestryopera for providing us the venue for the past 2 weeks.
#TheRefugeesOpera #NewOpera #Gratitude #CollaborativeArt WomenVoices DiasporaStories ArtForChange OperaCreation
TheRefugeesOpera NewOpera Gratitude CollaborativeArt WomenVoices DiasporaStories ArtForChange OperaCreation
We are counting down to opening night of 10 Days in a Madhouse with 72 facts about Nellie Bly!
23. The Sensational Series: "Behind Asylum Bars," became a national sensation.
24. Reform: Her work led to a $1 million increase in the budget for the Department of Public Charities and Corrections.
25. The Book: Expanded her reports into the book 10 Days in a Mad House.
26. Lobbying: Testified before a grand jury, leading systemic changes in mental health diagnosis.
27. Other Stunts: Went undercover as a chorus girl, a domestic servant, and a factory worker to expose labour abuses.
28. Arresting Corruption: Feigned a crime to get arrested, to report on the mistreatment of women in police custody.�
10 Days in a Madhouse
A Tapestry Opera and Opera Philadelphia co-commission and co-production, co-presented with the Luminato Festival and the Canadian Opera Company.
June 16-21, 2026
/tolive/10daysinamadhouse-tap2026-eb
#Opera #CanadianOpera #NewMusic #OperaSingersofInstagram
