The Los Angeles Opera has canceled a planned world premiere for the second consecutive season as a part of cost-cutting measures. Instead of debuting Missy Mazzoli's "Lincoln in the Bardo" in Los Angeles, the opera will open at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. This adaptation is based on George Saunders’ 2017 novel, with a libretto penned by Royce Vavrek.
Initially slated to debut in Los Angeles in February 2026, this decision was announced following the LA Opera’s unveiling of its 2025-26 season. LA Opera President Christopher Koelsch remarked, "With rising expenses, it's harder for us to manage the manifestation of all of our potential dreams." Koelsch praised the project as a "wonderful" piece that will have a significant impact when presented at the Met, describing it as miraculous and deeply moving, given the challenges of adapting what he calls "essentially unadaptable" material.
George Saunders' novel centers around the death of President Abraham Lincoln’s son, William Wallace Lincoln, exploring themes that lie between life and rebirth. Although "Lincoln in the Bardo" was set to premiere at LA Opera, it is now scheduled to make its debut at the Met in October 2026, after the Met included it as part of its season lineup announced in 2018.
This year’s withdrawal follows a similar pattern, as Mason Bates' "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" was also excluded from LA Opera's schedule last October. Instead, it received a testing performance with a student cast at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in November and is scheduled to open the Met's 2025-26 season on September 21.
Koelsch acknowledged the financial difficulties facing the organization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that he had not fully committed to bringing "Lincoln" to LA and decided it was unaffordable last fall. He noted that LA Opera’s revenue rose from $40.8 million in the 2022-23 season to $46.8 million in 2023-24 but was still down from $47.1 million in 2021-22. "Expense and income ratios for the next season were coming more into focus," Koelsch added.
In response to the cancellation of LA dates for "Lincoln," Met General Manager Peter Gelb announced plans for an additional workshop of the opera. This will be the Met’s 32nd world premiere, reinforcing its commitment to innovative works.
Looking ahead, the LA Opera's 2025 season includes five main stage productions at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with James Conlon conducting three of them in his final season as music director. Conlon, who has served for 20 years, will lead Francesca Zambello's staging of Bernstein's "West Side Story," first performed at the Houston Grand Opera in 2018, opening the season on September 20. He will also conduct a revival of Verdi's "Falstaff," starting April 18, 2026, and Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte," opening on May 30.
In addition to the main stage productions, LA Opera will present two world premieres in smaller venues: Sarah Kirkland Snider's "Hildegard," based on the writings of the Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen, will be performed at The Wallis in Beverly Hills from November 5-9. Furthermore, Carla Lucero's "The Tower of Babel," a new community opera, is set to be conducted by Conlon at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on May 8 and 9.
As the LA Opera seeks to navigate its financial challenges and plan for the future, Koelsch expressed hopes of hiring Conlon's successor before the 2026-27 season.
