The reviews are in for Lincoln in the Bardo, Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s opera from George Saunders’s novel, which had its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on October 19. It is the first opera by a woman that the Met has both commissioned and premiered. Peter Mattei sings Lincoln, grieving at the tomb of his 11-year-old son Willie, while the ghosts of a Georgetown cemetery try to coax the boy onward; Lileana Blain-Cruz directs and Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts. The critics are split. Most of them are dazzled by the staging and moved by Mattei, but the libretto divides them, and TheaterMania finds the evening a disappointment.
The verdict: seven reviews in so far, and only one of them scores it: Bachtrack, at 3 out of 5. The New York Times, OperaWire and Seen and Heard International are the most enthusiastic, and nearly everyone admires Lileana Blain-Cruz’s ghostly, effects-laden production and Peter Mattei’s grieving Lincoln. Where they part company is the libretto: New York Classical Review and OperaWire both find Royce Vavrek’s text too wordy or too plain, and TheaterMania, the most negative of the group, misses a single tune worth taking home.
What are critics saying about Lincoln in the Bardo?
The New York Times
"‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ Crosses Over to the Opera Realm"
Reviewer: Joshua Barone
Barone argues that Saunders’s novel, with its chorus of voices laid out on the page almost like a script, has long been a book waiting for an opera, and he thinks it has found the right one.
"…it’s as funny, strange and big-hearted as the novel, with a lavishly inspired production by Lileana Blain-Cruz to match."
He also marks the occasion as a milestone for the house, which had commissioned an opera by a woman before but never premiered one.
TheaterMania
"Lincoln in the Bardo at the Met Opera, Spooky for the Wrong Reasons"
Reviewer: Zachary Stewart
Stewart finds Mazzoli’s score pleasantly cinematic but never memorable, and calls Vavrek’s lyrics banal to turgid, with too many characters for the running time. He thinks Anthony Roth Costanzo is wasted in a minor role.
"It’s a thrilling overture to a mostly disappointing night."
The production is the part he admires: Adam Rigg’s gothic set and James Ortiz’s puppets strike him as far more impressive than anything on the page.
Bachtrack
"Lincoln in the Bardo makes a spectacularly spooky world premiere at the Met"
Reviewer: Susan Stempleski · 3 out of 5
Stempleski is taken with the staging and with a score she finds eclectic and constantly shifting, kazoo-humming chorus included. She calls Peter Mattei’s “Dear Little Chap” a high point and Christine Goerke’s Reverend a scene-stealer.
"…Lileana Blain-Cruz has created a genre-bending, visually spectacular, surprisingly joyful production."
Her one real reservation is Anthony Roth Costanzo, whose camp Miss Elise Traynor she finds less successful than the rest of a mostly splendid cast.
New York Classical Review
"Great music, moving moments vie with libretto, structural issues in Met premiere of “Lincoln in the Bardo”"
Reviewer: George Grella
Grella hears plenty of magic in the music and in Mattei’s singing, but he lays the evening’s problems at the door of the libretto, which he says buries the music under words and swings between song and plain dialogue. He also finds the structure lopsided, with a long first act and a static epilogue.
"When music and libretto are working together, Lincoln in the Bardo is quite alluring."
He praises Anthony Roth Costanzo’s eerie Miss Traynor, and notes that a key line for the Reverend drew titters from the audience.
Read George Grella’s full review at New York Classical Review
OperaWire
Reviewer: David Salazar
Salazar admires how Vavrek trims the novel’s crowd of ghosts and paces the story, but finds the language flat, and especially unworthy of a Lincoln famous for his eloquence. Mazzoli’s score, he says, supplies what the text lacks.
"…a glorious score imbued with life by a fantastic cast make this a must-see showcase at the Met."
He saves his highest praise for Peter Mattei, whose falsetto cries of “Willie is dead” he calls the most affecting moment of the night.
Seen and Heard International
"Missy Mazzoli’s new Lincoln opera brings spectacle and emotional power to the Met"
Reviewer: Rick Perdian
Perdian concedes structural problems, a lopsided pair of acts and vignettes that lean on sight gags, but believes Mazzoli’s gift for setting words and her orchestral color carry the day, alongside a steady stream of visual marvels.
"…words, music and stagecraft fused into a remarkably cohesive whole, creating a theatrical experience of rare power."
He singles out the fireworks of the “matterlightblooming” effect, Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s detailed conducting, and Mattei’s dignified, compassionate Lincoln.
Read Rick Perdian’s full review at Seen and Heard International
Also reviewed by: The Times of London (Emma Hoffman, "Lincoln in the Bardo review — chills and laughs in the Met’s bold new opera"), whose review sits behind a paywall.
For more from the New York critics, read our roundups for Copperfield! The New Musical at The Duke on 42nd Street and Other Desert Cities at the Hudson Theatre.
Lincoln in the Bardo plays at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center through November 14, 2026. The running time is two hours and 40 minutes, including an intermission. Production photos by Karen Almond / Met Opera.
