‘Mad and sad’: Looking behind The Yellow Wallpaper.

The article focuses on Dani Howard's new operatic work, *The Yellow Wallpaper*, premiered at the Copenhagen Opera Festival, which adapts Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1892 story exploring women's mental health, isolation, and motherhood. The opera portrays a woman's descent into depression following childbirth and her confinement under the "Rest Cure," using a small ensemble and innovative lighting to create an intimate, emotionally charged experience. Director Amy Lane emphasizes the nuanced depiction of mental health struggles as a response to trauma and social isolation, inviting reflection on historical and contemporary approaches to care. The work encourages audiences to engage in ongoing conversations about empathy, gender, and mental health, highlighting endurance and the potential for change.