Lincoln Center Summer Festival 2025 Restores Classical Music and Expands Multicultural Programming

The 2025 edition of Lincoln Center’s ‘Summer for the City’ festival will reintroduce more classical music and opera programming, reversing recent trends that emphasized broader genres. Running from June 11 to August 9, the festival will feature performances from the American Modern Opera Company, marking its debut at Lincoln Center with twelve productions. Highlights include ‘The Comet/Poppea,’ blending George Lewis’s adaptation of W.E.B. Du Bois’s story with Monteverdi’s opera, and premieres like Matthew Aucoin’s ‘Music for New Bodies.’ The soprano Julia Bullock will also perform Messiaen’s ‘Harawi.’ Other notable offerings include the theatrical ‘Rome Is Falling’ and a retelling of the Sanskrit epic ‘Mahabharata’ by Why Not Theater. Brazilian music will also take center stage with performances from Lenine and Os Mutantes. The Festival Orchestra, led by Jonathon Heyward, will blend contemporary and classical pieces, including works by Beethoven and the Schumanns. The popular disco ball and dance floor return, along with Clint Ramos’s bird-themed outdoor decor. Lincoln Center aims to reflect the city’s evolving cultural landscape and attract diverse audiences through this eclectic, inclusive programming.