Bard Composer in Residence Missy Mazzoli featured in the New York Times
Mazzoli's "Lincoln in the Bardo" is the first opera written by a woman to have its world premiere at the Met.
Bard Composer in Residence Missy Mazzoli was the subject of a New York Times feature article, on the occasion of the back-to-back world premieres for two operas she composed.
“The Galloping Cure,” cowritten with librettist Royce Vavrek, debuted as a Scottish Opera production at the Edinburgh International Festival; meanwhile, “Lincoln in the Bardo” is set to premier at the Metropolitan Opera—who also commissioned it—in October. The former opera has received rave reviews, according to the Times, for providing “politically urgent, musically eclectic works for a new generation of operagoers.” The Times of London labeled the latter opera as “one of the greatest operas of the century.”
The forthcoming “Lincoln in the Bardo” is based on George Saunders’s 2017 novel of the same name. Following the former American president through the Civil War while he is also grieving the death of his son, it engages themes of political polarization that remain relevant today. It will be the first world premiere opera at the Met that was written by a woman; Mazzoli is also one of two women to have been awarded Met commissions. Artistic director of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, Stephanie Blythe, will also be featured in the new opera.
Mazzoli’s operas are written as much for new audiences as for traditional ones, she told the Times. “I don’t feel that opera has to stay stuck in the past,” Mazzoli said. “I really want my work to spark a conversation among the audience, with the critics, with the press. I just want people to come out asking more questions than they have answers.”
At 45, Mazzoli has already written seven operas, drawing from a wide range of musical styles and traditions that are expanding the definition of the operatic form. Mazzoli studied music in college and in graduate school, though she cites MTV as being as much an influence as anything from the operatic canon. The use of nontraditional instrumentation—including kazoos, in the case of “Lincoln in the Bardo”—further distinguishes Mazzoli as charting a new direction for opera. “The idea that opera is only for people in tuxedos, that is the perception we are fighting against,” she told the Times.
Mazzoli is faculty member in the Bard Music Program and the Bard College Conservatory of Music, whose mission is to provide the best possible preparation for a person dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music. She teaches classes on composition and new music, as well as giving private studio instruction for composition majors at Bard.
Post Date: 09-18-2026
“The Galloping Cure,” cowritten with librettist Royce Vavrek, debuted as a Scottish Opera production at the Edinburgh International Festival; meanwhile, “Lincoln in the Bardo” is set to premier at the Metropolitan Opera—who also commissioned it—in October. The former opera has received rave reviews, according to the Times, for providing “politically urgent, musically eclectic works for a new generation of operagoers.” The Times of London labeled the latter opera as “one of the greatest operas of the century.”
The forthcoming “Lincoln in the Bardo” is based on George Saunders’s 2017 novel of the same name. Following the former American president through the Civil War while he is also grieving the death of his son, it engages themes of political polarization that remain relevant today. It will be the first world premiere opera at the Met that was written by a woman; Mazzoli is also one of two women to have been awarded Met commissions. Artistic director of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, Stephanie Blythe, will also be featured in the new opera.
Mazzoli’s operas are written as much for new audiences as for traditional ones, she told the Times. “I don’t feel that opera has to stay stuck in the past,” Mazzoli said. “I really want my work to spark a conversation among the audience, with the critics, with the press. I just want people to come out asking more questions than they have answers.”
At 45, Mazzoli has already written seven operas, drawing from a wide range of musical styles and traditions that are expanding the definition of the operatic form. Mazzoli studied music in college and in graduate school, though she cites MTV as being as much an influence as anything from the operatic canon. The use of nontraditional instrumentation—including kazoos, in the case of “Lincoln in the Bardo”—further distinguishes Mazzoli as charting a new direction for opera. “The idea that opera is only for people in tuxedos, that is the perception we are fighting against,” she told the Times.
Mazzoli is faculty member in the Bard Music Program and the Bard College Conservatory of Music, whose mission is to provide the best possible preparation for a person dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music. She teaches classes on composition and new music, as well as giving private studio instruction for composition majors at Bard.
Post Date: 09-18-2026