Director’s Talk: Creators from the Metropolitan Opera's "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay"

James S. Snyder, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director, will be in conversation with Gene Scheer, librettist, and Bartlett Sher, director, about the creation of the Metropolitan Opera’s production, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, based on Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. 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. After sold out performances in September, the opera returns for four performances. Onstage February 17 – 21.

About the speakers:

Bartlett Sher is a Tony award-winner who has been described by The New York Times as one of America’s “most original and exciting directors.” His productions have been nominated for over 90 Tony Awards, and his other work on Broadway and in the West End includes the 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, and South Pacific. Sher has also directed several operas, including Rigoletto (Berlin, Metropolitan Opera); Roméo et Juliette (Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg, Milan, Chicago); Faust (Baden Baden); Two Boys (ENO, Metropolitan Opera).

Gene Scheer is an acclaimed American librettist known for his versatility and his emotionally resonant texts – praised by audiences, critics, and collaborators alike. He is principally known for his work on 12 full-length operas, including high-profile collaborations with composer Jake Heggie (Moby‑Dick, Three Decembers, It’s a Wonderful Life, Intelligence, If I Were You, Two Remain), Joby Talbot (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Everest), and Jennifer Higdon (Cold Mountain). Also a composer in his own right, Mr. Scheer has written a number of songs for singers such as Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Sylvia McNair, Denyce Graves, Lucas Meachem, and Nathan Gunn, and his song “American Anthem,” performed by Norah Jones, was featured in Ken Burns’ Emmy-winning PBS documentary The War.

Tickets: $24 General; $16 Students and Seniors; $14 Jewish Museum members

Doors open at 6:30 pm; Includes Museum Admission

The Morris W. Offit Lecture Series at the Jewish Museum is made possible in part by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation.