John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

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, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

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, John Adams, Gerald Finley

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

2:32

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

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock, John Adams

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, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Andrew Staples

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, Julia Bullock, John Adams, Jennifer Johnston

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

2:27

Chorus - "At the sight of this"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

4:41

"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"

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

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Julia Bullock

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra
Julia Bullock

Vocals
BBC Singers

Chorus

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer