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 Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

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"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

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"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

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"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, 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"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston, John Adams

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

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

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!"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

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 Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Gerald Finley

Vocals
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra
Julia Bullock

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
René Möller

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

Editing Engineer