Lincoln in the Bardo - Metropolitan Opera (2026) - Lincoln in the Bardo - Metropolitan Opera (2026), Lileana Blain-Cruz

Description

World premiere.

The Metropolitan Opera in New York is making room for new works and, as part of its 2026/27 season, is presenting Lincoln in the Bardo, an opera commissioned from American composer Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek adapted from the Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name by George Saunders.

This fantastical work takes place in 1862 both in a Georgetown cemetery and in the "bardo," the state between life and death, awaiting rebirth in Tibetan Buddhism—and here populated by those who resist the forces of light and darkness, and refuse to accept their fate. The libretto focuses on eleven-year-old Willie, the recently deceased son of Abraham Lincoln: the American president's incessant and painful visits to his dead son's grave prevent the young boy's spirit from finding eternal rest. A debate unfolds between the president and the spirits of the place, concerning both the acceptance of grief and the guilt of the political leader tormented by the idea of ​​having led to the deaths of thousands of young men during the American Civil War.

Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads this production, accompanying a cast headed by baritone Peter Mattei as Lincoln, surrounded by the inhabitants of the bardo, portrayed by soprano Christine Goerke, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, among others. Director Lileana Blain-Cruz has created a dreamlike set design for this "quintessentially American tale," presented at the Met to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States.

More information is available on the Opera's official website.