The Metropolitan Opera’s World-Premiere Production of Missy Mazzoli’s Lincoln in the Bardo Opens on October 19
Composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek make their Met debuts, with a new production directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
Starring Peter Mattei, Stephanie Blythe, Janai Brugger, Christine Goerke, Anthony Roth Costanzo, and Ryan McKinny; Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts
New York, NY (September 25, 2026)—Missy Mazzoli becomes the first woman to have a worldpremiere at the Metropolitan Opera, with Lincoln in the Bardo, an adaptation George Saunders’s Booker Prize–winning novel, a ghost story set in Abraham Lincoln’s Washington in 1862, with a libretto by Royce Vavrek. The new production, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, will open on October 19, with eight additional performances through November 14. The cast features baritone Peter Mattei as Lincoln, soprano Christine Goerke as the Reverend, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as Miss Elise Traynor, and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as Vollman. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, conducts all performances except for October 31 and November 14, which Steven Osgood leads.
With this world premiere, Mazzoli joins a distinguished group of female composers whose works have had Met premieres in recent seasons, including Gabriela Lena Frank (El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego), Jeanine Tesori (Grounded), and Kaja Saariaho (L’Amour de Loin, Innocence).
The opera takes place in the bardo, a ghostly realm set in a cemetery just outside of Washington, D.C. The only living character is President Abraham Lincoln who, in the opera, comes to visit his recently deceased son, Willie. Willie’s arrival is the catalyst for the action that results in stunning realizations and magical transformations of the ghosts in the cemetery. Saunders’s novel and Vavrek’s libretto grapple with the grief of a father dealing with the incomprehensible sadness of losing a child, alongside the humor and levity of ghosts who struggle to comprehend their current state. The production incorporates puppetry, pyrotechnics, and a live horse to bring the bardo to life on the Met stage.
The cast also includes soprano Janai Brugger as Mrs. Hodge, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as Mrs. Baron, and tenors Jonah Hoskins as Bevins and Joshua Blue as Thomas Havens. Baritone Craig Colclough portrays Mr. Baron, and Everett Sobers is Willie in his Met debut. Michael Hurst sings the role of Willie on October 31 and November 14.
Along with Blain-Cruz, the creative team includes set designer Adam Rigg; costume designer Montana Levi Blanco, who is concurrently designing the Met’s season-opening production of Verdi’s Macbeth; co–lighting designers Yi Zhao and Stacey Derosier (in her Met debut); co–projection designers Hannah Wasileski and Hana S. Kim (in her Met debut); creature-suit and puppet designer James Ortiz; and dramaturg Paul Cremo. Sound designer Kate Marvin, illusion and special effects designer Jeremy Chernick, and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly also make their Met debuts with this production.
Lincoln in the Bardo Broadcasts on Radio and Online
The October 19 and November 11 performances of Lincoln in the Bardo will be broadcast live on the SiriusXM app. A recording of a fall performance will also be broadcast on The Robert K. Johnson Foundation–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network on February 13. In addition, these broadcasts will be streamed on the Met website, metopera.org.
Public Programming
Friday, September 25 (Rain Date Saturday, September 26) | 6PM
Death of Classical Co-Presents a Lincoln in the Bardo Cemetery Preview
Green-Wood Cemetery
Death of Classical co-presents an immersive preview of Lincoln in the Bardo, the major new opera based on the Booker Prize–winning novel by George Saunders. Ticketed guests will travel deep into the heart of Green-Wood along a path brought to life by music, dance, spoken word, and theatrical encounters inspired by the novel’s haunting world of spirits. As night falls, the journey culminates in an intimate performance featuring stars of the production and a conversation with composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, moderated by music journalist Amanda Petrusich. Tickets required. More information here.
Wednesday, September 30 | 6PM
WNYC’s Get Lit with All Of It Book Club
In Person and Live Streamed at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library
WNYC and the New York Public Library’s Get Lit with All Of It book club partners with the Met to celebrate George Saunders’s Booker Prize–winning novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, which will make its operatic debut when Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s new adaptation has its world premiere this fall. Free; registration is required.
This event is at capacity, but a live stream will be available. If interested in coverage, please contact [email protected].
Monday, October 5 | 7PM
Works & Process: Lincoln in the Bardo
Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim Museum
In advance of the world premiere of Lincoln in the Bardo, the Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process series presents an insider look into the creative process behind composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek’s haunting new opera. Met General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with Mazzoli and Vavrek about adapting George Saunders’s celebrated novel and speaks to the members of the production’s creative team about bringing this supernatural story to the Met stage. Artists from the all-star cast will also perform highlights from the score. Tickets required. More information here.
This event is at capacity. If interested in coverage, please contact [email protected].
Tuesday, October 6 | 7PM
LIVE from NYPL: Lincoln in the Bardo
In Person and Live Streamed at the Celeste Bartos Forum at the New York Public Library
The Met returns to LIVE from NYPL for an evening of performance and discussion with author George Saunders, composer Missy Mazzoli, and librettist Royce Vavrek. Free; registration is required.
This event is at capacity. If interested in coverage, please contact [email protected].
Thursday, October 15 | 6:30PM
Ghosts in the Graveyard with Death of Classical
Trinity Church
In a special collaboration between the Met, Trinity Church, and Death of Classical, guests experience an intimate preview of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo. The evening begins with a twilight walk through Trinity’s historic churchyard, followed by a reception, an exclusive performance featuring members of the cast, and a conversation with the opera’s composer and librettist. Set within the extraordinary acoustics and atmosphere of Trinity Church, this one-night-only event invites audiences into the bewitching world of one of today’s most acclaimed composer-librettist teams. Tickets required. More information here.
Gallery Met
In connection with the new production of Lincoln in the Bardo and as part of the company’s Gallery Met initiative, the Met will display a banner by artist Elizabeth Peyton on the opera house’s façade from October 25 to November 17. The piece on which the banner is based will also be on view inside the opera house. A gift from Marie Schwartz made the Gallery Met initiative possible in 2006. Learn more about Gallery Met, curated by Dodie Kazanjian, here.
Met Under 40
During the 2026–27 season, the Met’s popular young-audience program, Met Under 40, continues to offer discounted ticket options for audiences aged 40 and under in the Orchestra, Grand Tier, and Dress Circle sections for select performances. A special Met Under 40 party will also be held ahead of the October 29 performance of Lincoln in the Bardo featuring complimentary wine, hors d’oeuvres, and themed activities. Tickets start at $50 for non-party dates and $75 for party dates. Learn more at metopera.org/under40.
$25 Toll Rush Tickets
The Met Opera app is available for download on mobile devices, offering users a way to purchase $25 Toll Rush Tickets via an automated lottery. Lotteries open two weeks prior to a performance, and winners are notified the day before the performance. Toll Rush Tickets can also be purchased on a first-come, first-served basis by visiting metopera.org at 12PM for weekday performances, 2PM for Saturday evening performances, and four hours before curtain for matinee performances. Learn more about the Met Opera app here.
For More Information
For further details on Lincoln in the Bardo, including casting by date, please click here.