LINCOLN IN THE BARDO
Based on the book by George Saunders
Commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera 

Friday, July 11, 2025 • 3:15 p.m.

Norton Hall

Steven Osgood, conductor

Featuring the Chautauqua Opera Company and members of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory. 

Immediately following the workshop presentation, please stay seated for a panel discussion led by conductor Steven Osgood, featuring guests:

Missy Mazzoli, composer

Royce Vavrek, librettist

George Saunders, author 

Christine Goerke, soprano

Program excerpts to be announced from the stage.

 Synopsis:

When President Abraham Lincoln’s son Willie succumbs to typhoid fever in 1862, he finds himself in Oak Hill Cemetery, unaware that he is dead. In fact, all the ghosts in the cemetery believe they are merely ill and waiting to be revived in the “sick yard.” One thing is certain: the sick yard does not treat children well who linger. Three ghosts—Bevins, a young gay man; Vollman, a young widower; and a Calvinist Reverend—must encourage Willie to transcend to the next dimension in a feat known among the ghosts as matterlightblooming.

Willie believes that his father will return for him, and indeed, he does—cradling the boy’s lifeless body and speaking to him. The citizens of the sick yard interpret this as the boy’s ability to connect with a loved one, something the ghosts have been unable to achieve with their own familial visitors. Bevins, Vollman, and the Reverend do everything they can to convince Willie not to remain in the sick yard, knowing they must encourage him to engage with his father once more.

When Willie sits beside his father in a chapel and hears his father express his grief, he realizes that he is dead. He then announces to all the ghosts that they, too, have died, setting off a widespread spectacle of matterlightblooming. As Lincoln leaves the cemetery on horseback, a deceased black servant, Havens, takes it upon himself to enter the President’s body, and together they lope away to change the course of history.

Cast:

Willie: Emily Finke
Lincoln: Joel Balzun
Bevins: Carlos Ahrens
Vollman: Seoyong Lee
Reverend: Christine Goerke
Miss Elise Traynor: Chuanyuan Liu
Thomas Havens: Lwazi Hlati
Mrs. Frances Hodge: Victoria Lawal
Mr. Baron: Robert Feng
Mrs. Baron: Rosamund Dyer
Litzie Wright: Kathiana Dargenson 
Ginger Chap from Maine: Joel Clemens
Lieutenant Stone: Eric Botto
Doodling Pennsylvanian: Antonio Domino 

Angels
Victoria Lawal
Aida Skaraite*
Lindsey Weissman
Huije Sun*
Rosamund Dyer
Michaela Larsen*

Gilberts
Eric Botto
Antonio Domino
Aldo Alan*
Erik Tofte
Reever Jay Julian*
Wayne Arthur*

Young Brides
Clothilde Culeux*
Aubrey Cole*
Kathiana Dargenson
Cara Bender
Adaiah Ogletree*

Mary Todd Lincolns
Madeleine Christopher*
Angelina Yi*
Valarie Miles*
Christine Powell Thomas*
Gabrielle Guida*

Three Tendrils
Kathiana Dargenson
Lindsey Weissman
Eric Botto

Ensemble: 
Aldo Alan*
Wayne Arthur*
Justin Bell*
Cara Bender
Eric Botto
Madeleine Christopher*
Joel Clemens
Aubrey Cole*
Clothilde Culeux*
Kathiana Dargenson
Antonio Domino
Rosamund Dyer
Robert Feng
Nicholas Gryniewski*
Gabrielle Guida*
Lwazi Hlati
Reever Jay Julian*
Michaela Larsen*
Victoria Lawal
Valarie Miles*
Adaiah Ogletree*
Christine Powell Thomas*
Aida Skaraite*
Huije Sun*
Erik Tofte
Valentine Umeh*
Lindsey Weissman
Angelina Yi* 

*denotes Chautauqua Opera Conservatory student 

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra

Violin 1
Vahn Armstrong, concertmaster
Amanda Gates 
Adrienne Finet 
Anton Shelepov 
Leslie Anderegg 
Molly McDonald 
Kurt Munstedt 

Violin 2 
Diane Bruce 
Simon Lapointe 
Karen Lord-Powell 
Zhe Deng 
Zhen Liu 
Timothy Peters 
 
Viola 

Karl Pedersen

Eva Stern
Carrie Fischer

Javier Otalora
Pedro Mendez

Cello
Igor Gefter
Daniel Kaler
Maximiliano Oppeltz
Samuel Pierce-Ruhland

Double Bass
P.J. Cinque
Kieran Hanlon

Caleb Edwards

Flute
Luke Fitzpatrick
Kathryn Levy (piccolo)
 

Oboe
Noah Kay

Adam Dinitz

Clarinet
Olivia Hamilton
Daniel Spitzer (bass)
 

Bassoon
Jeffrey (John J.) Robinson
Martha Sholl (contrabassoon)

Horn 

Roger Kaza
Donna Dolson
Daniel Kerdelewicz
Mark Robbins

Trumpet
Peter Lindblom
Leslie Linn

Ted Clark

Trombone
Nicole Abissi
Colin Williams

Eric Lindblom

Tuba
Cristina Cutts Dougherty

Timpani
Matthew Strauss

Percussion
Tom Blanchard
Pedro Fernandez
Mark Hodges

Harp
Nancy Lendrim  

Keyboards

Nathaniel LaNasa

General & Artistic Director: Steven Osgood  
Manager: Helen Hassinger 
Music Administrator: Carol Rausch 
Music Staff: Allison Voth, Nathaniel LaNasa, and Rick Hoffenberg
Diction Coach: Allison Voth
Supertitles: Allison Voth
Audio Engineer: Martin Gimenez
Director of Production: Michael Baumgarten  
Production Stage Manager: Valerie Wheeler
Technical Director: JP Woodey
Costume Shop Supervisor: Cristine Patrick
Arts Marketing Specialist: Holly Weston
Company Scheduler: Rick Hoffenberg  
Management Associate: Summer Bugbee
Marketing and Management Assistant: Aviva Harris
Opera Guild Intern: Michael Burns  

Thank you to the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory leadership, Jonathan Beyer, Director, and Denyce Graves-Montgomery, Artistic Advisor, for their leadership and collaboration in this project.

Thank you to the Conservatory Staff & Faculty for their assistance in this collaboration, especially Conservatory Faculty member Donald Lee III for his work in preparing the Opera Conservatory Ensemble.

Thank you to the Metropolitan Opera, who are our partners in this workshop this week.

Thank you to Stephanie Woodworth, Drew Fleming and Peggy Monastra at G. Schirmer for their support of this workshop, and creating the orchestral materials. 

Thank you to Bernd Gottinger for his gracious loan of microphones and PreAmps for the capture of the workshop.

Thank you to Lara Sipols and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra library staff for printing and managing the orchestral materials for this workshop.

Thank you to the members of the Chautauqua Opera Guild and Chautauqua Opera Guild President, Deanna Johnson, for their gracious and unwavering support of the Chautauqua Opera Company.

We are grateful for the support of the following donors: