John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

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

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, 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..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

Julia Bullock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, Samuel Sakker, Gerald Finley, 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"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

Julia Bullock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

11:59

Interlude - Rain over the Sangre de Cristo

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:57

"In the north the cloud-flower blossoms"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Jennifer Johnston

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

2:27

Chorus - "At the sight of this"

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

4:41

"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"

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

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Julia Bullock

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Gerald Finley

Vocals
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra
BBC Singers

Chorus

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer