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.
"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"
"Many of us are inclined to say"
"This is a petition"
"What if it's a dud?"
"The test must go on as scheduled"
"No, before the bomb is used"
"The motive of it all was loneliness"
"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"
John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, Gerald Finley
"Five hundred U.S. Superfortresses are raining bombs"
Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, Marcus Farnsworth, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"I'll sign the report, sir"
John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, Gerald Finley
"With respect, sir, anyone with two good eyes"
Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Samuel Sakker
"I have been preoccupied with many matters"
Aubrey Allicock, Samuel Sakker, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, John Adams
"Get them out of here. From now on, I'm making my own weather predictions"
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock
"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"
John Adams, Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"To the farthest west, the sea and the striped country"
"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"
John Adams, Jennifer Johnston, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"Fermi is taking wagers"
Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, Gerald Finley, Brindley Sherratt, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"I've spent a great deal of time indulging in controlled fantasies"
"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"
Jennifer Johnston, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, Gerald Finley, John Adams, Brindley Sherratt
"This program has been plagued from the start"
BBC Singers, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"To keep the weakness secret"
"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"
"The winter dawned, but the dead did not come back"
"And love, which contains all human spirit"
"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, Brindley Sherratt, Gerald Finley
"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"
John Adams, Brindley Sherratt, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"To what benevolent demon do I owe the joy of being thus surrounded"
"The sky is clear to the east"
"In the midnight, in the flame-brilliant midnight"
Production
- Friedemann EngelbrechtProducer
- René MöllerRecording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer
- Wolfgang SchiefermairEditing Engineer