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 Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

Julia Bullock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

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"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Julia Bullock

11:59

Interlude - Rain over the Sangre de Cristo

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:57

"In the north the cloud-flower blossoms"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

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"

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

2:27

Chorus - "At the sight of this"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

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"

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

Julia Bullock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Julia Bullock

Vocals
BBC Singers

Chorus
Gerald Finley

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer