John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

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"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

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"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

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, BBC Symphony Orchestra, 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"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

Brindley Sherratt, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, 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"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

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, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley

2:42

"That's their signal!"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

John Adams, Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra
Gerald Finley

Vocals
Julia Bullock

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
René Möller

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

Editing Engineer