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 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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, 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 Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

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"

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

2:32

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

John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock

11:59

Interlude - Rain over the Sangre de Cristo

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

2:57

"In the north the cloud-flower blossoms"

Jennifer Johnston, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

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, Andrew Staples, John Adams

2:48

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

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

2:27

Chorus - "At the sight of this"

John Adams, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:41

"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"

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

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock, John Adams

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Julia Bullock

Vocals
BBC Singers

Chorus
Gerald Finley

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer