Missy Mazzoli’s opera Lincoln in the Bardo premiered at the Metropolitan Opera on October 19, 2026, as the company’s first premiere by a woman composer. The work, based on George Saunders’ acclaimed novel, has already received strong critical praise, including a detailed profile in *The New Yorker* by Nathan Heller that examines the musical, literary, and performance elements of the production and situates it within Mazzoli’s broader artistic trajectory.
Set in a cemetery at the close of the Civil War, the opera depicts the former American president mourning the death of his 11-year-old son and meeting various lingering spirits. Composed with her longtime collaborator Royce Vavrek, the piece marks Mazzoli’s first commission from the Metropolitan Opera and highlights her transition from an indie-electro musician to a leading dramatic composer in the U.S.
Heller’s profile captures this transition, noting that “Mazzoli, once best known for her indie-electro band, Victoire, has emerged as one of our leading dramatic composers, and the opera,” adding that “Lincoln in the Bardo, written with her longtime librettist, Royce Vavrek, is both her first Met commission and the company’s first première by a woman.” The assessment highlights how the production balances historical weight with contemporary musical innovation.
“Lincoln in the Bardo,” the sixth opera by the American composer Missy Mazzoli, premièred last month, at the Metropolitan Opera. Based on the novel by George Saunders and set a year into the Civil War, the opera follows Abraham Lincoln as he visits his deceased 11-year-old in the… pic.twitter.com/QD9WBHGoaw
A Historic Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera
The October 19 premiere of the opera, an adaptation of George Saunders’ novel featuring a score that Heller notes Mazzoli has “produced a rich twenty-first-century score with musical shadows of both the Civil War era and the Halloween graveyard,” was the Metropolitan Opera’s first première by a woman.
Stephanie Blythe, who serves as artistic director of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, is featured in the opera, bringing her considerable vocal expertise to the staging. The narrative unfolds in the bardo—a concept drawn from Tibetan Buddhism describing an intermediate state between death and rebirth—where Lincoln and other spirits confront unfinished business amid the graveyard’s restless inhabitants at the close of the Civil War.
Ghosts, Grief, and the Weight of History
Having trained as a death doula, she brings what Heller characterizes as a distinctive, immersive approach to the material, observing that “Mazzoli, who has trained as a death doula, is known for burrowing deep into specific worlds.” This methodology shapes the opera’s layered score, which weaves together the historical resonance of the Civil War era with the eerie atmosphere of the Halloween graveyard.
The story centers on Lincoln’s devastating grief over his son Willie, who died in 1862, and the president’s subsequent visit to the cemetery to hold the boy’s body. This historical moment becomes the opera’s emotional anchor, as Lincoln encounters various ghosts who inhabit the burial ground, each carrying their own unresolved narratives from the war-torn period that defined the nation’s history.
From Indie-Electro to the Opera Stage
Before establishing herself firmly in the opera world, Mazzoli gained widespread recognition as the leader of Victoire, an indie-electro ensemble that helped define a generation of Brooklyn-based experimental music. Once best known for her indie-electro band Victoire, Mazzoli has emerged with Lincoln in the Bardo at the Metropolitan Opera as one of the leading dramatic composers.
The opera was written with longtime librettist Royce Vavrek, adapting George Saunders’ novel. Their partnership produced an opera set in a cemetery at the end of the Civil War, in which the former American president mourns his 11-year-old son’s death and meets numerous lingering ghosts.
🔴 Missy Mazzoli becomes first woman to premiere opera at Met in 143 years Composer Missy Mazzoli, 45, debuted "Lincoln in the Bardo" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, becoming the first woman to have an opera premiered by the Met in its 143-year history. The work, based on… pic.twitter.com/hFYgalGtsf
Shaping Composers at Bard College
Beyond her active composing career, Mazzoli serves as a faculty member in both the Bard College Music Program and the Bard College Conservatory of Music. There, she teaches classes on composition and new music while providing private studio instruction to composition majors, helping shape the next generation of musicians dedicated to lives immersed in the creation and performance of music.
Her dual role as practicing composer and educator reflects the conservatory’s mission to provide the best possible preparation for students pursuing musical careers. Students working with Mazzoli benefit from her firsthand experience bridging the indie music scene and the Metropolitan Opera, providing a rare view of how contemporary composition operates in both worlds.
More on Missy Mazzoli
Missy Mazzoli’s operatic adaptation of George Saunders’s novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” is a charismatic, openhearted work. https://t.co/JlUXmjzfnx
‘Lincoln in the Bardo,’ the Metropolitan Opera’s new commission by Missy Mazzoli, with a libretto by Royce Vavrek, is chilling and spooky but also chilly, full of virtuoso singing without a sturdy dramatic core. https://t.co/QczvTLo28V
Composer Missy Mazzoli Makes History with Met Opera Premiere of Lincoln in the Bardo https://t.co/iUvM2VCo9x
