John Adams: Doctor Atomic

John Adams: Doctor Atomic

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

5:10

"The end of June 1945"

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers

4:18

"First of all, let me say"

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

2:15

"We surround the plutonium core"

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams

1:42

"We are bedeviled by faulty detonators"

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

1:31

"Many of us are inclined to say"

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

2:26

"The nation's fate..."

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

2:16

"This is a petition"

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

2:42

"What if it's a dud?"

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

2:02

"The test must go on as scheduled"

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

3:20

"No, before the bomb is used"

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

4:07

"Am I in your light?"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Julia Bullock

4:31

"Long let me inhale, deeply..."

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

6:27

"The motive of it all was loneliness"

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

4:24

Electrical storm

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:17

"What the hell is wrong with the weather?"

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

2:34

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

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

4:06

"I'll sign the report, sir"

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

1:18

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

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

3:00

"I have been preoccupied with many matters"

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

2:32

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

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aubrey Allicock

4:05

"General, you are bearing up with remarkable fortitude"

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

3:18

"Batter my heart"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley

7:34

"Easter Eve, 1945"

John Adams, Julia Bullock, BBC Symphony Orchestra

11:59

Interlude - Rain over the Sangre de Cristo

John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

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, Andrew Staples, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston

2:48

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

Julia Bullock, Jennifer Johnston, John Adams, 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"

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

2:16

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

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

3:36

"Edward, the test will be delayed an hour"

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

3:01

Panic

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, BBC Singers

2:52

"This program has been plagued from the start"

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

1:30

"To keep the weakness secret"

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

2:11

"I just finished reading The Magic Mountain"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Andrew Staples, 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"

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

3:00

"The only saviors are the ham sandwiches"

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

1:32

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

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

2:42

"That's their signal!"

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Gerald Finley

2:17

"The sky is clear to the east"

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

2:59

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

BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, Julia Bullock

3:06

"Zero minus two minutes"

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

1:03

Countdown

BBC Singers, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra

6:05

John Adams

Composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Composer
Gerald Finley

Vocals
BBC Singers

Chorus
Julia Bullock

Vocals

Friedemann Engelbrecht

Producer
René Möller

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

Editing Engineer