John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

2006

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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 center 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 characterized 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 galvanized BBC Symphony Orchestra. A major recording of a modern operatic classic.

Overture

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

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"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, 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, John Adams, Jennifer Johnston

1:54

"It's midnight, Jack"

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

5:11

"I've dreamed the same dream"

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

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"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

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"

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

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams

6:05

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer