John Adams: Doctor Atomic
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.
"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"
"Many of us are inclined to say"
"This is a petition"
"What if it's a dud?"
"The test must go on as scheduled"
"No, before the bomb is used"
"The motive of it all was loneliness"
"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"
Gerald Finley, Marcus Farnsworth, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"Five hundred U.S. Superfortresses are raining bombs"
Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, Aubrey Allicock
"I'll sign the report, sir"
Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock, Marcus Farnsworth, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"With respect, sir, anyone with two good eyes"
Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, Samuel Sakker, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"I have been preoccupied with many matters"
Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Samuel Sakker
"Get them out of here. From now on, I'm making my own weather predictions"
John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"
John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock
"To the farthest west, the sea and the striped country"
"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"
Jennifer Johnston, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"Fermi is taking wagers"
John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, Brindley Sherratt, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley
"I've spent a great deal of time indulging in controlled fantasies"
"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"
Brindley Sherratt, Aubrey Allicock, Marcus Farnsworth, Jennifer Johnston, John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"This program has been plagued from the start"
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Singers, Aubrey Allicock
"To keep the weakness secret"
"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"
"The winter dawned, but the dead did not come back"
"And love, which contains all human spirit"
"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"
John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Brindley Sherratt, Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley
"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"
John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock, Brindley Sherratt
"To what benevolent demon do I owe the joy of being thus surrounded"
"The sky is clear to the east"
"In the midnight, in the flame-brilliant midnight"
Production
- Friedemann EngelbrechtProducer
- Wolfgang SchiefermairEditing Engineer
- René MöllerRecording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer