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?"
Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock
"Five hundred U.S. Superfortresses are raining bombs"
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, John Adams, Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock
"I'll sign the report, sir"
Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, Marcus Farnsworth, John Adams
"With respect, sir, anyone with two good eyes"
Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Samuel Sakker, John Adams
"I have been preoccupied with many matters"
Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock, Samuel Sakker, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"Get them out of here. From now on, I'm making my own weather predictions"
Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock
"To the farthest west, the sea and the striped country"
"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Jennifer Johnston, Aubrey Allicock
"Fermi is taking wagers"
Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Brindley Sherratt
"I've spent a great deal of time indulging in controlled fantasies"
"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"
John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston, Aubrey Allicock, Gerald Finley, Brindley Sherratt, Marcus Farnsworth
"This program has been plagued from the start"
Gerald Finley, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams
"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"
Gerald Finley, Aubrey Allicock, John Adams, Brindley Sherratt, BBC Symphony Orchestra
"Lieutenant Bush, keep a weather eye on Oppenheimer"
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Aubrey Allicock, Brindley Sherratt
"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
- Wolfgang SchiefermairEditing Engineer
- René MöllerRecording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer