The Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music have announced the next workshop in their groundbreaking joint program, “Opera Fusion: New Works.”

In collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera, the Cincinnati partners will host a workshop in November 2023 for the new opera “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which is being composed by Missy Mazzoli and written by Royce Vavrek. The opera, which is commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and a co-production with Los Angeles Opera, will make its world premiere in 2026.

The OF:NW workshop for “Lincoln in the Bardo” will culminate in a public performance of excerpts on Nov. 12, 2023 at Cincinnati Opera’s Corbett Opera Center at Music Hall. The performance will be followed by a conversation about the opera with Mazzoli, and Vavrek, among others. 

“Lincoln in the Bardo” is based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by George Saunders, which spins a fantastical and supernatural tale inspired by a true historical event.