Talks & Events Archive: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier

February 12 | 7–8PM
Director's Talk at The Jewish Museum 
Scheuer Auditorium 

James S. Snyder, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director, will be in conversation with Gene Scheer, librettist, about the creation of the Metropolitan Opera’s production, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, based on Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Tickets required. 

September 24 | 6PM
WNYC’s “Get Lit with All Of It” Book Club at The New York Public Library 
In person and Livestreamed at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library

WNYC and the New York Public Library's “Get Lit with All Of It” book club partners with the Met to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Free; registration is required.

September 16 | 7PM
Discussion and selected performances from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center

In his third novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon gifted readers with an extraordinary pair of immigrant cousins who invent an anti-fascist comic superhero reflecting the fears and dreams of Jewish New Yorkers as the Nazis closed in on their relatives back home.

Weaving Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay into a love song to the mad new American art form of the comic book and to New York’s rising Jewish community, Chabon created a sensation and won a Pulitzer Prize. Now, the Metropolitan Opera has reimagined that novel with an eclectic score that captures Chabon’s disparate worlds, from Nazi-occupied Prague to vibrant New York and the zaniness of comic book fantasyland. The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center is proud to welcome members of the cast to perform selections from the opera and composer Mason Bates, librettist Gene Scheer and director Bartlett Sher for a conversation about translating a book into an opera and capturing the essence of New York Jewry as the Nazi nightmare unfolded. Free; registration required.

September 14 | 1–2PM
Second Sundays
Pioneer Works, Brooklyn

Join video art director Nicol Scott and comic book expert Chip Kidd in conversation about the history of the genre, the use of projection in live art, and how to make superhero animation come to life in the opera The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, based on the book by Michael Chabon. Dr. Miriam Mora moderates the discussion and musical excerpts from the opera will be performed. Free; registration is required.

September 11 | 7PM 
From Page to Stage: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay 
Park Avenue Synagogue

Ahead of the company premiere of Mason Bates and librettist Gene Scheer's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, join PAS and the Metropolitan Opera for a discussion about the new work, as well as selections from the opera.  In this new adaptation of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, set shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, two Jewish cousins invent an anti-fascist superhero and launch their own comic-book series, hoping to recruit America into the fight against Nazism.

Rabbi Lori Koffman will moderate a panel featuring PAS music director David Enlow, composer Mason Bates, and Dr. Miriam Mora, historian of Jewish immigration. 
Free; registration is required.

September 8 | 7PM 
Works & Process: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay 
Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim Museum

Enjoy an advance look at the exhilarating new adaptation of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel that opens the Metropolitan Opera's 2025–26 season September 21. Set shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the opera focuses on two Jewish cousins who invent an anti-fascist superhero and launch their own comic-book series, hoping to recruit America into the fight against Nazism. Incorporating scintillating electronic elements and a variety of musical styles, composer Mason Bates’s eclectic score moves seamlessly among the three worlds of Gene Scheer’s libretto: Nazi-occupied Prague, the bustling streets of New York City, and the technicolor realm of comic-book fantasy. Ahead of the thrilling premiere, Met General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with members of the creative team, with cast members joining to perform highlights from the opera.  Tickets required.