‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ leaps from book to stage in Missy Mazzoli’s new opera

New York (AP) — The setting is a graveyard. Almost all the characters are dead, with Abraham Lincoln alive but paralyzed by grief over the loss of his 11-year-old son. Composers Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek based "Lincoln in the Bardo," an opera, on George Saunders' Booker Prize-winning novel. The bardo in Tibetan Buddhism represents the period between physical death and rebirth.

Lincolns' ghosts refuse to accept their fate, often referring to their coffins as "sick-boxes." They find peace when acknowledging their true state.

Throughout the opera, the ghosts share life stories ranging from inspiring to tragic to ridiculous. The production is far from grim, according to creators. Lileana Blain-Cruz, the director, emphasized that the opera honors life not being all doom and gloom, featuring desires and silliness. Willie Lincoln, a typhoid fever victim, and his father, a grieving father, visit Lincoln's son's crypt in the opera. By the end, Willie accepts his death, and Lincoln is ready to guide the nation through the Civil War.

Composing the score was challenging for Mazzoli due to the focus on a child's death. She attempted to understand the character by focusing on the end of the story, where Willie realizes that being dead allows him to break free from earthly constraints. The opera opens on October 19 with Met music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting and runs for nine performances.