John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, Julia Bullock, BBC Singers

2006

John Adams’ 2005 opera explores the personal and moral issues surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb. Captured live in concert, it has colossal power and conviction. At its centre is Gerald Finley’s commanding performance as Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist wracked by doubts. Having sung it at the premiere and many times since, he produces a magnificently characterised creation. Julia Bullock, Brindley Sherratt, Samuel Sakker and Andrew Staples are all superb in supporting roles and Adams himself draws virtuoso playing from a truly galvanised BBC Symphony Orchestra. A major recording of a modern operatic classic.

Overture

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

Gerald Finley, John Adams, Brindley Sherratt, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Brindley Sherratt

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Brindley Sherratt, Gerald Finley

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Staples, Gerald Finley, John Adams

2:16

"This is a petition"

Brindley Sherratt, John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Staples

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Brindley Sherratt, John Adams, Andrew Staples, Gerald Finley

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

Brindley Sherratt, BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

Brindley Sherratt, BBC Singers, John Adams, Andrew Staples, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock, John Adams

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

Marcus Farnsworth, Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:34

"Five hundred U.S. Superfortresses are raining bombs"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley, Marcus Farnsworth, Aubrey Allicock

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley

1:18

"With respect, sir, anyone with two good eyes"

Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Samuel Sakker, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

Gerald Finley, Samuel Sakker, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:32

"Get them out of here. From now on, I'm making my own weather predictions"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley, John Adams

3:18

"Batter my heart"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock

11:59

Interlude - Rain over the Sangre de Cristo

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:57

"In the north the cloud-flower blossoms"

Jennifer Johnston, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

Andrew Staples, John Adams, Marcus Farnsworth, BBC Symphony Orchestra

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston, Andrew Staples

2:48

"To the farthest west, the sea and the striped country"

John Adams, Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

Aubrey Allicock, Jennifer Johnston, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

Brindley Sherratt, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley

2:16

"I've spent a great deal of time indulging in controlled fantasies"

Brindley Sherratt, Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

Brindley Sherratt, Marcus Farnsworth, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Jennifer Johnston, Gerald Finley

3:01

Panic

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

BBC Singers, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Julia Bullock, John Adams, Jennifer Johnston, Gerald Finley

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

Andrew Staples, John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

2:15

"The winter dawned, but the dead did not come back"

Jennifer Johnston, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers, Julia Bullock

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

Aubrey Allicock, Brindley Sherratt, Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:27

Chorus - "At the sight of this"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

4:41

"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"

Brindley Sherratt, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra

1:32

"To what benevolent demon do I owe the joy of being thus surrounded"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Gerald Finley

2:42

"That's their signal!"

Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

Jennifer Johnston, Marcus Farnsworth, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:59

"In the midnight, in the flame-brilliant midnight"

Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley

1:03

Countdown

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra
Gerald Finley

Vocals
Julia Bullock

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer