Missy Mazzoli announces the World Premiere of Lincoln in the Bardo at the The Metropolitan Opera

Lincoln in the Bardo is the first opera by a woman to be commissioned and premiered solely by The Metropolitan Opera

Lincoln in the Bardo is composed by Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by George Saunders

Performances take place October 19 - November 14

"The unleashing of Mazzoli’s apocalyptic imagination on the huge Met stage is an occasion eagerly awaited."

– Alex Ross, The New Yorker

New York, NY (February 20, 2026) - This week, The Metropolitan Opera announced Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's Lincoln in the Bardo will have its highly-anticipated world premiere October 19 - November 14, including a Halloween performance, at the Met Opera. Mazzoli is the fifth woman to ever have a work on the Met stage and Lincoln in the Bardo is the first main-stage opera by a woman to be commissioned and premiered solely by The Metropolitan Opera. Based on George Saunders's novel of the same name, Lincoln in the Bardo tells the story of the hours following the funeral of Abraham Lincoln's son Willie from the perspective of the graveyard’s residents, both real and imagined. Performed during the 250th anniversary of the United States, the opera invites reflection on the nation’s founding ideals through the lens of a profound moment of grief and transformation.

The production will be directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, Resident Director of Lincoln Center Theater. The cast includes baritone Peter Mattei as Lincoln, soprano Christine Goerke as the Reverend, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as Miss Elise Traynor, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as Mrs. Baron, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.

Link to The Metropolitan Opera's Website

Missy Mazzoli's Website

About Missy Mazzoli

GRAMMY®-nominated composer Missy Mazzoli was recently deemed “one of the more consistently inventive, surprising composers now working in New York” (The New York Times). Her music has been performed all over the world by the Kronos Quartet, eighth blackbird, Dublin’s Crash Ensemble, pianist Emanuel Ax, Opera Philadelphia, Scottish Opera, Opera Comique, LA Opera, Cincinnati Opera, the Detroit Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, JACK Quartet, violinist Jennifer Koh, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, and many others. In 2018 she made history when she became one of the two first women (along with composer Jeanine Tesori) to be commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. Mazzoli has been nominated for three GRAMMY® Awards in the categories of best classical composition and best classical compendium.