Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Each season, Lincoln Center honors one extraordinary artist whose impact, vision, and values embody the transformative power of the arts across the many disciplines represented on campus. Starting in August 2025, we celebrate Jeanine Tesori, one of the most prolific and honored theatrical composers in history. A two-time recipient and six-time nominee of the Tony Award for Best Score, a two-time Drama Desk Award recipient, a six-time GRAMMY Award nominee, and a two-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tesori's major theatrical works include Kimberly Akimbo; Fun Home; Caroline, or Change; Shrek The Musical; Thoroughly Modern Millie; and Violet. Her operas include A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck; The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; Blue, which received the MCANA Award for Best New Opera; and Grounded. She is also among the first women to be commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera.

Lincoln Center’s season-long celebration of Tesori centers around the theme of making connections—between artists, audiences, and the arts organizations that make up Lincoln Center. Program highlights include a production of her powerfully poignant opera Blue; her musical theater masterpiece Violet, performed in American Sign Language by Deaf Broadway; a film screening of West Side Story in collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center; a public community choir series inviting the audience to sing; a conversation series exploring the creative threads that connect storytelling across disciplines; and so much more.

Upcoming Events

August 27 at 8:00 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

The Met's HD Festival: Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded

Lincoln Center Presents

August 27 at 8:00 pm

location pin logoJosie Robertson Plaza

Tesori’s powerful new opera centers on a servicewoman’s struggle to balance family, career, and the psychological toll of modern warfare.
ALL AGES
OPERA
FILM

October 26 at 11:00 am

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Come & Sing

Lincoln Center Open House

Lincoln Center Presents

October 26 at 11:00 am

location pin logoDavid Geffen Hall

New York, you're invited to come and sing at Open House! Be part of a participatory public community choir curated and led by Jeanine Tesori.
ALL AGES
Participatory

November 07 at 6:30 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Reimagining Justice

Blue in Dialogue with What Might Be

Lincoln Center Presents

November 07 at 6:30 pm

location pin logoKenneth C. Griffin Sidewalk Studio, David Geffen Hall

Jeanine Tesori, Tazewell Thompson, Susan Sturm, and Bryonn Bain lead an evening of performance and discussion inspired by the opera Blue.
ALL AGES
TALK

November 15 at 7:30 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Jeanine Tesori's Blue

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with Lincoln Center Theater and The Metropolitan Opera

November 15 at 7:30 pm

location pin logoWu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall

Experience a staged concert of the award-winning contemporary opera Blue from Lincoln Center’s 2025 Visionary Artist Jeanine Tesori.
AGES 2+
OPERA
STAGED CONCERT

March 08 at 11:00 am

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Come & Sing

With The Lazours

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with Lincoln Center Theater

March 08 at 11:00 am

location pin logoLincoln Center Theater

New York, you're invited to come and sing! Be part of a participatory public community choir directed by The Lazours.
ALL AGES
Participatory

March 20 at 7:30 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Jeanine Tesori's Violet

In American Sign Language by Deaf Broadway

Lincoln Center Presents

March 20 at 7:30 pm

location pin logoAlice Tully Hall

Experience Violet, a musical about repairing the scars that lie deeper than skin, with a full Deaf Broadway cast performing through ASL.
AGES 2+
MUSICAL THEATER
ASL-LED

April 05 at 7:00 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Cast Album Project

Lincoln Center Presents

April 05 at 7:00 pm

location pin logoThe Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jeanine Tesori brings her ongoing Cast Album Project (CAP) to Lincoln Center for a one-night-only live cast album recording session.
AGES 2+
MUSICAL THEATER

April 06 at 7:00 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Cast Album Project

Lincoln Center Presents

April 06 at 7:00 pm

location pin logoThe Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jeanine Tesori brings her ongoing Cast Album Project (CAP) to Lincoln Center for a one-night-only live cast album recording session.
AGES 2+
MUSICAL THEATER

April 30 at 6:30 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Swans of Harlem

A Conversation on Legacy in Motion

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with The Metropolitan Opera

April 30 at 6:30 pm

location pin logoList Hall, The Metropolitan Opera

This panel discussion explores Karen Valby’s The Swans of Harlem, which chronicles the untold stories of five Black ballerinas of Dance Theatre of Harlem.
ALL AGES
TALK

May 12 at 7:30 pm

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

The Lineage of Laughter

David Lindsay-Abaire and Christopher Durang

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with The Juilliard School

May 12 at 7:30 pm

location pin logoThe Juilliard School

Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire joins Jeanine Tesori for a night celebrating his work and Christopher Durang’s profound influence on his path.
ALL AGES
TALK

May 17 at 11:00 am

Lincoln Center Visionary Artist: Jeanine Tesori

Come & Sing

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with Lincoln Center Theater

May 17 at 11:00 am

location pin logoLincoln Center Theater

New York, you're invited to come and sing! Be part of a participatory public community choir curated and led by Jeanine Tesori.
ALL AGES
Participatory