While soprano Kiera Duffy will take a Puccini opera any time, there is one thing about the classics that makes them difficult to perform.
“It’s not like you can ask the composers what they were thinking while writing,” said Duffy, a Springfield Township native, who, over the past 15 years has performed in many of the classics and more modern operas. “It’s not like I can call up Mozart and ask him why this character is doing this or that character is doing that.”
Duffy will not have that problem as she takes on the lead role of Nelly Bly in Opera Philadelphia’s world premiere of “10 Days in a Madhouse” Sept. 21 to 30 at the Wilma Theater as part of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O23.
The opera is based on the work of trailblazing investigative reporter Bly, who, in 1887, faked madness to be admitted to Blackwell’s Asylum for the Insane in New York and to report on the wretched conditions from the inside. Tickets are available at https://www.operaphila.org.
“This is a very challenging role,” Duffy said. “Everyday I feel drained at the end (of rehearsals). I was trying to remember if I have felt this way before, but I couldn’t remember. It’s a very intense play and Nellie Bly is an amazing person. It’s like I’m spending the day surrounded by, I don’t want to say madness, but certainly intensity.
“(Nelly Bly) was such an amazing person. Even by today’s standards she would be an almost unbelievable figure. She once took a boat around the world. She did so many amazing things. Then, when you put it into the context of the time she did it all, it’s really hard to believe.”
Duffy certainly knows about intensity throughout her career. She has performed all over the world in just about every famous opera house. Coming back to Opera Philadelphia is special.
“I really love what I do,” Duffy said. “Opera Philadelphia is an amazing place. They gave me my start and they are one of the top opera companies in the country. I am so lucky to be part of what they are doing.”
“10 Days in a Madhouse” will be Duffy’s first time back on a Philadelphia stage since her star-making role in 2016’s “Breaking the Waves.” The opera, composed by Lansdale native Missy Mazzoli, has gone on to be called one of the 21st century’s best operas.
“‘Breaking the Waves’ was such an amazing experience,” said Duffy. “I was really able to see how opera can be modernized in a fantastic way.”
Like many opera singers, Duffy’s first experience with the art was watching it on stage. As a student at Westminster Choir College, she had the opportunity to attend a show at The Met in New York.
“I was blown away by everything,” Duffy said. “To hear those voices without any amplification coming up to the upper echelon of the space like we were in the front row just grabbed me.”
Originally thinking she would be a choir conductor, Duffy soon learned her voice would fit right in and she continues to work at the skill.
“We are like professional athletes — well, without the paycheck,” Duffy said. “This voice came to me after 15 years of really intense training. No one is born with this. It is something that you have some raw ability, but, really, it’s the diligence and the work. We are doing this every day. We are learning the limitations of our voice and cultivating it as an instrument. There are no shortcuts.”
Duffy spent the first 10 years of her life biking around the streets of Springfield. Even though she’s traveled the world and lived in many different places, it still is close to her heart.
“I’m a Delco girl at heart,” said Duffy, who attended grade school St. Francis of Assisi in Springfield. “I have many memories of going to summer rec at Springfield High School and riding my bike on Saxer Avenue over the trolley tracks.
“It’s interesting, I was talking to one of my siblings, I’m the oldest of five and we have all chosen, well, maybe with the exception of my youngest brother, to live in neighborhoods that are very similar to our Delaware County.”
Duffy recently left her position as the head of undergraduate voice studies at the University of Notre Dame to become the voice teacher at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
“I moved out of South Bend to Rochester and my dad, he grew up in Drexel Hill, said ‘This feels so Delco,’ ” Duffy said.
For the next few weeks, though, Duffy will be back home getting ready for challenge of bringing Nelly Bly’s story to the stage.
“You know it’s great when your community can come and see you do your work,” said Duffy. “There’s the sense of familiarity with the place you’ve known your whole life, but also to know that my hometown company is one of the best opera companies in the country and is truly really amazing by any metric.”
