John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

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 Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock, John Adams

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

2:32

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:57

"In the north the cloud-flower blossoms"

Jennifer Johnston, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

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"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

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"

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

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

Jennifer Johnston, Marcus Farnsworth, John Adams, 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"

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

1:03

Countdown

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Julia Bullock

Vocals
BBC Singers

Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer