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‘Kavalier and Clay’ could be a Jewish-American 'Ring Cycle' — what would Richard Wagner think of it?

JL;DR SUMMARY The Metropolitan Opera's adaptation of Michael Chabon's "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" serves as a poignant response to Richard Wagner's antisemitic views, utilizing the composer's musical style to critique his ideology. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish American IdentityOperaMythologyMetropolitan OperaMichael ChabonRichard WagnerKavalier & ClayMason BatesSuperhero Comics

Places mentioned

Prague, Prague, Hlavní mešto, Czechia
"the sound of 1939 Prague includes Wagner tubas (for the Nazis, duh)."
New York, United States
"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, now at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, was always fated to confront Richard Wagner."

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Cairo Item ID 62911
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-10-02 05:31:01 UTC
Curated 2025-10-02 08:30:58 UTC