John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Julia Bullock

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

2:32

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, 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"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston

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, John Adams, Jennifer Johnston, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

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"

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, John Adams

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

Julia Bullock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Gerald Finley

Vocals
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra
Julia Bullock

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer