And opera needs works like “10 Days,” which treats the medium with affection and respect while also chafing at its tropes throughout history. For this is an opera that jerks between beauty and terror — seamlessly under the baton of Daniela Candillari, leading an ensemble of about a dozen instrumentalists. The patients (members of Opera Philadelphia Chorus, led by Elizabeth Braden) can sing the same hymn with serenity in one scene and chaotic dissonance in the next, with few indications of which is the truer rendition. The most tragic of the patients is Lizzie (the mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis, who sings with a lush and moving elegance that would make her ideal for mid-20th century American opera). Her repetitive ramblings come into logical focus with a long, crushing aria about the death of her daughter.

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Persons: Nellie Bly’s, —, Bly, Daniela Candillari, Elizabeth Braden, Josiah Blackwell, Will Liverman, Joanna Settle’s, Andrew Lieberman, Kiera Duffy, Lauren Pearl, Raehann Bryce, Davis, Lizzie doesn’t, She’s Organizations: Opera Philadelphia, Academy of Music Locations: Roosevelt