How punk rock and MTV inspired opera composer Missy Mazzoli

On a recent Sunday night in Brooklyn, at a concert by the punk rock band Mannequin Pussy, we found the perhaps unlikely new face of the rarefied world of opera: 45-year-old classical composer Missy Mazzoli.

Asked what she loves about punk music, Mazzoli replied, "I love that it's extreme, that it wears its thoughts and emotions and politics on its sleeve, and that it is just this raw expression of human emotion."

Which sounds exactly like opera!

Mazzoli is taking on one of the biggest stages in the world, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, which is debuting her latest work, "Lincoln in the Bardo." With it, she becomes the first woman to have an opera premiered by the Met in its 143-year history.

Mazzoli's parents bought a piano at a flea market when she was seven. A few years later, she was writing her own music. But it wasn't just classical; she also played in punk bands – and inspiration came from everywhere. "MTV was there for me, when no one else was," she laughed. "And I would watch MTV for hours and hours every day. And so, I can look back to that and say like, 'Oh, my interest in opera makes a lot of sense, because I was watching Guns N' Roses or Sonic Youth, these videos that let you enter a whole different world.'"

"Lincon in the Bardo" is based on the novel by George Saunders, and tells the story of President Lincoln at a pivotal moment. "His 11-year-old son, Willie, died very unexpectedly," Mazzoli said, "and Lincoln was just consumed with grief, and would actually go to the graveyard and visit with his son's body in the days and weeks after his death."

I have no power here.
And now I must accept it.
My boy is gone!
My boy is gone!
Peaceful, resplendent, in a new form of being.
Willie is dead.
My dear little chap, good-bye. 
– From "Lincoln in the Bardo"

Mazzoli says the opera asks big questions that speak to our time, too. "This is a story that takes place at the height of the Civil War when America is at its most divided," she said. "And the idea of making a work set in a very divided America felt extremely relevant."

To prepare, Mazzoli spent time in actual cemeteries herself.  "For me, opera is the way to explore things that are difficult to talk about," she said. "Think about life and death. We can sing songs about it. But I think that we can sort of get at what the questions are. So, when someone is singing their heart out about love or betrayal or grief, I think words don't do those emotions justice, but singing and music really can."

True to form, "Lincoln in the Bardo" is an enormous production, with elaborate costumes, puppetry, special effects, and even a very large horse who makes a brief appearance at the end of the show.

Royce Vavrek has written the lyrics to Mazzoli's music in six operas. "We really bond because of our shared love of storytelling and theater," he said, "and so I am in charge of sort of the word drama and she is in charge of the musical drama, and together I think we just combust into something way bigger than the sum of our two parts."

Just this summer, they premiered another new work, "The Galloping Cure," which looks at the opioid epidemic. It's a personal topic for both. "I have two cousins who died," Mazzoli said, "one of an OxyContin overdose, and one of a heroin overdose after becoming addicted via Oxycontin. And Royce's father passed away and succumbed to his addiction."

With two major operatic premieres, and an upcoming piano concerto commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Missy Mazzoli is having a moment. "I joke with my partner, everything in my life is happening in this three-week span," she said. "But I'm just really trying to ride the wave and enjoy it."

Mazzoli says, as a young composer, there were unequal expectations in the industry: "With male creators, they're looking for potential. They're like, 'Oh, he has great potential to do this.' But when it come to hiring a woman, they're like, 'Oh, but she hasn't written an opera yet.' And it's like, But she has the potential."

So, ten years ago, Mazzoli co-founded a non-profit organization called Luna Lab, to mentor and provide performance opportunities to teen composers. "I want to inspire future generations to pursue music as a career and to continue to express themselves in this medium," she said.

While Monday's premiere marked Mazzoli's Met debut, it's also a return of sorts. She first came to the Met when she was 18. The only seat she could afford was in the last row of the highest section: "And it was this seat, right here, and I sat here, and it changed my life!"

    
Story produced by Wonbo Woo. Editor: Jessica Falk.

For more info:  

• "Lincoln in the Bardo" at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City (through Nov. 14)
• Missy Mazzoli (Official site)
• Luna Composition Lab
• "The Galloping Cure" courtesy of Scottish Opera, Edinburgh International Festival, Opera Ventures Productions