How punk rock and MTV inspired opera composer Missy Mazzoli

October 25, 2026 / 10:22 AM EDT / CBS News

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."

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…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/