Lincoln in the Bardo: Met Opera’s Bold Revival Bet
The met opera revival is underway — and it is a gamble. Facing declining audiences, annual losses and credit rating downgrades, the 143-year-old Metropolitan Opera has decided that going big is its best hope: in the space of four days, it commissioned dual world-premiere operas on two continents.
Going Big to Survive
“The only possible path out of the financial struggles and challenges we face is by being bold, by demonstrating the absolutely indispensable nature of the Met as a cultural institution,” general manager Peter Gelb told AFP. “Keeping this great company everlasting is my top priority.”
The bold strategy follows a setback: a partnership with the Saudi Music Commission unveiled in September 2025 fell through amid Saudi cutbacks related to the US-Iran war. Playing it safe, Gelb suggested, would mean “certain failure.”
A Ghost Story at Lincoln Center
The ambitious sprint culminates Monday with the debut performance of Lincoln in the Bardo, an adaptation of George Saunders’ Booker Prize-winning novel about Abraham Lincoln’s struggle to confront the loss of his 11-year-old son Willie as he faced heavy criticism early in the Civil War. With music by rising American composer Missy Mazzoli and a libretto by Royce Vavrek, it is the first world premiere by a female composer in the Met’s modern history.
Baritone Peter Mattei stars as Lincoln, with soprano Christine Goerke, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe in featured roles. Lileana Blain-Cruz directs, Yannick Nézet-Séguin shares the podium, and the production runs October 19 through November 14.
Warsaw to New York
The other half of the bet is The Mothers of Kherson, the Met-commissioned story of Ukrainian mothers who tried to save their kidnapped children after Russia’s invasion, which premiered in Warsaw. The company is counting on giveaways, celebrity buzz and politically resonant programming to fill seats — and prove opera still matters.
Source: AFP