John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

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 Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock, John Adams

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

2:32

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

Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, John Adams

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock, John Adams

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, Jennifer Johnston, John Adams

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

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, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
BBC Singers

Chorus
Julia Bullock

Vocals
Gerald Finley

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer