I challenge myself to see a variety of new operas every year. In the 2024-2025 opera season, I saw 10 written in 2000 or later. I do recognize that a good chunk of them aren’t going to be great, but I want to support the creation of new operas so the art form I love doesn’t stagnate. All that being said, this opera was fantastic.
I had not read the Pulitzer prize-winning book for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but it was delightful. Two Jewish cousins invent an anti-fascist superhero and write a successful comic book. This summary doesn’t do justice to the inventiveness of the tale. Combining sets and lighting allow the story to move seamlessly between WWII-era Prague, NYC, and the imagination of a comic book writer. All of the singers were fantastic, and I really appreciated how good the acting was (not just the vocals). Soprano Lauren Snouffer was a standout (not surprising given how great she always is in modern operas; I recently saw her in Breaking the Waves in Houston). However, the true kudos go to the production team: director Bartlett Sher and set, lighting, and video design house 59 Studio.
This production really transcends opera; I was delighted to find a review of the opera in The Economist, a first for me. It mixed stunts, incredibly creative lighting projections, jazzy music for the NYC scenes, and a Slavic flavor for the scenes set in Prague. It somehow respectfully combines the lightness of comic books (including a Dada-esque appearance by Salvador Dali in a diving suit) with the heavy topic of the Holocaust.
This is what modern opera should be. I was delighted to find out that the Met was able to pull together for some extra performances in February 2026. See it if you can!
Opera: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Composer: Mason Bates
Venue: The Metropolitan Opera
Date: October 11, 2025
Link: https://www.metopera.org/season/2025-26-season/the-amazing-adventures-of-kavalier–clay
Opera Nerd 
Leave a comment