Death of Classical Opens Landmark 10th Anniversary Season with Two Immersive Previews of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's Lincoln in the Bardo, in Partnership with the Metropolitan Opera
NEW YORK, NY — Death of Classical will launch its 10th Anniversary Season with a special partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, celebrating one of the most anticipated new operas of the decade: Lincoln in the Bardo, the new work by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, based on George Saunders' Booker Prize–winning novel. The opera receives its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on October 19, 2026.
Taking audiences beyond the traditional preview performance, Death of Classical will transform two historic New York cemeteries into immersive theatrical journeys inspired by the novel's haunting landscape, culminating in conversations with the creatives who have brought the work to life, and performances of music from the opera by stars of the Met production.
The partnership begins on September 25 at The Green-Wood Cemetery, following the overwhelming success of Death of Classical's sold-out collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera on El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego earlier this year. The event will feature a site-specific immersive experience through the cemetery grounds, where music, movement, spoken word, and theatrical encounters evoke the mysterious liminal world of the bardo. The journey will culminate in performances of excerpts from the opera by artists from the Metropolitan Opera production, alongside a conversation with composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, moderated by music journalist Amanda Petrusich.
The second event will take place on October 15 at Trinity Church & Cemetery in Lower Manhattan, just days before the Metropolitan Opera's world premiere. The event will once again include musical excerpts, along with conversations with the creative team of the opera. Audience members can purchase tickets that include a pre-show reception and tour of Trinity's historic Churchyard Cemetery, where Alexander Hamilton is buried.
Set over the course of a single night during the Civil War, Lincoln in the Bardo imagines President Abraham Lincoln returning to the grave of his eleven-year-old son, Willie, whose death has devastated him. Suspended in the bardo—a realm between life and death—a chorus of restless spirits bears witness as Lincoln confronts unimaginable grief while carrying the burden of a nation at war. By turns humorous, heartbreaking, and transcendent, the story explores mourning, memory, compassion, and the enduring power of love.Andrew Ousley, Founder and Artistic Director of Death of Classical, said: "Lincoln in the Bardo, with its story of grief, memory, compassion, and the profound ways we accompany one another through loss, is a perfect fit for the world of Death of Classical, and the spaces – both physical and metaphysical – where we've built our community in over these past ten years. It's a gift to be able to share the genius of George Saunders, distilled into the profoundly moving music of Missy Mazzoli (who, for the record, is also a certified death doula) and the wrenching words of Royce Vavrek, and a joy to collaborate once again with our dear friends at the Metropolitan Opera as we invite audiences into the singular spaces of Green-Wood and Trinity."For nearly a decade, Death of Classical has reimagined the concert experience through immersive performances in cemeteries, crypts, churches, and other extraordinary spaces where history, architecture, and music augment one another. Launching its milestone 10th Anniversary Season with both Lincoln in the Bardo events continues that mission, inviting audiences to encounter one of the year's most anticipated new operas in places where its themes of memory, mortality, and transcendence resonate. The remainder of Death of Classical's 2026–27 anniversary season will be announced in the coming weeks.
Learn more about the September 25th event at Green-Wood HERE
Learn more about the October 15th event at Trinity Church NYC HERE