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, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek.

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 Sept. 25 at The Green-Wood Cemetery and 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.

The second event will take place on Oct. 15 at Trinity Church & Cemetery in Lower Manhattan, just days before the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere.

In a statement, 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 Church NYC.”