About Rene Orth

Rene Orth is a composer who "breaks new ground" (Opera News), writing music described as “always dramatic, reflective, rarely predictable, and often electronic” (Musical America). She was the inaugural Resident Composer at Opera San José in the 2022-23 season, and recently completed a three-year tenure as Composer-In-Residence at Opera Philadelphia.

This season, Opera Philadelphia presents the world premiere of Orth’s 10 Day in a Madhouse, co-commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and Tapestry Opera. With a libretto by Hannah Moscovitch, this psychological drama based on historical events follows the trailblazing reporter Nellie Bly through her internment at Blackwell's Asylum, exposing, as Bly did, notions of madness and societal biases against women. The opera, conducted by Daniela Candillari, stars Kiera Duffy, Raehann Bryce-Davis, and Will Liverman. Other projects include a commission for Vocal Arts DC premiering at The Kennedy Center in 2024, composing a song cycle for mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack; writing a new song, A Prayer, for baritone Will Liverman’s next album, which is a duet for him and mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges, setting a Sara Teasdale poem; and writing an electronics and voice piece for mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis’ forthcoming debut album, Stand the Storm. The Chautauqua Institution will also premiere Love, Loss, and the Century Upon Us (libretto by Jerre Dye) with a 13-piece orchestra, part of a larger work called A Summer Place in Summer 2024.

Distinctions include grants and awards from OPERA America, American Composers Forum, Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Orth is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. She received her M.M. in Music Composition at the University of Louisville, and holds additional degrees from MediaTech Institute and Rhodes College. www.reneorth.com.

About Will Liverman

Called “a voice for this historic moment” (Washington Post), GRAMMY Award winning baritone Will Liverman is the recipient of the 2022 Beverly Sills Artist Award and the co-creator of The Factotum – called “mic-drop fabulous good” (Opera News) – which premiered at the Lyric Opera Chicago in 2023.

This season Liverman returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. He was previously seen at the Met opening its 21-22 season in a celebrated “breakout performance” (New York Times) as Charles in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones, which won the 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording.

Liverman’s 2023-24 season further includes productions with Opera Philadelphia for the world premiere of Rene Orth’s 10 Days in a Madhouse and the Met Opera for Roméo et Juliette. In concert, he joins the Lexington Philharmonic for the orchestrated world premiere of Shawn E. Okpebholo’s Two Black Churches, Houston Symphony’s Carmina Burana, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for Brahms’ A German Requiem, and The Washington Chorus’ Elijah Reimagined, plus Dayton Opera, Caramoor, and Cincinnati Song Initiative for vocal recitals. He serves as Artistic Advisor for Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall.

Cedille Records released Liverman’s Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers with pianist Paul Sanchez in February 2021. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical chart and was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

Liverman is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and was a Glimmerglass Festival Young Artist. He holds degrees from The Juilliard School (M.M.) and Wheaton College in Illinois (B.M.). www.willliverman.com.

About Daniela Candillari

Conductor Daniela Candillari brings her “confidence and apparently inexhaustible verve” (The New York Times) to opera houses and concert stages throughout North America and internationally. Recognized for her “powerful and breathtaking performances” (Review STL), she enters her third season as both Principal Conductor at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Principal Opera Conductor at Music Academy.

After Summer 2023 performances of Tosca with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, four separate programs with Classical Tahoe, and La bohème with Music Academy, Candillari’s 2023-24 season opens with the world premiere of Rene Orth and Hannah Moscovitch’s 10 Days in a Madhouse at Opera Philadelphia, where she makes her company debut. Immediately following, Candillari conducts the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded with Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center. Her season continues with a return to Arizona Opera for Don Giovanni, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis for Julius Caesar and Center Stage, plus appearances at Yale School of Music for A Rake's Progress as well as at Manhattan School of Music.

Daniela Candillari grew up in Serbia and Slovenia. She holds a Doctorate in Musicology from the Universität für Musik in Vienna, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and a Master of Music and Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the Universität für Musik in Graz. A Fulbright Scholarship recipient, she was also awarded a TED Fellowship.

Learn more at www.danielacandillari.com.