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, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

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?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

John Adams, Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

2:32

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

Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, 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"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

2:27

Chorus - "At the sight of this"

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:41

"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"

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

1:32

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

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

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, Jennifer Johnston, 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"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, 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