John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

Julia Bullock, BBC Singers, 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, BBC Singers, John Adams

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

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 Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Julia Bullock

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

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"

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

2:32

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

Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, John Adams

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"

Jennifer Johnston, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Julia Bullock

Vocals
BBC Singers

Chorus
Gerald Finley

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer