Diana Damrau begeistert in Essen als Lucia di Lammermoor

10 Days in a Madhouse is a musically and dramatically excellent but disturbing insight into conditions in a women’s asylum brought to life in Toronto by an excellent production.

Despite Michieletto's visual gloom, the evening is redeemed by Myung-whun Chung’s masterful conducting and a cast that brings conviction to a production that rarely trusts the opera’s own dramatic power.