John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

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

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

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"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

Julia Bullock, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

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"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

Gerald Finley, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

John Adams, Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra

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"

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

3:35

"A delay in the Potsdam Ultimatum"

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

1:00

"Fermi is taking wagers"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

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

2:15

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

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

1:53

"And love, which contains all human spirit"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

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, Aubrey Allicock, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Brindley Sherratt

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, John Adams

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Bullock, John Adams

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Julia Bullock

Vocals
BBC Singers

Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
René Möller

Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Editing Engineer
Wolfgang Schiefermair

Editing Engineer