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{{Short description|Opera by John Adams}}
{{For|the underground comic|Larry Todd}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox opera {{Infobox opera
| name = Doctor Atomic | name = Doctor Atomic
| image = File:JA-portrait-1-LW.jpg | image = Doctor_Atomic_Metropolitan_Opera_2008_Poster.jpg
| caption = Composer John Adams, 2008 | caption = Metropolitan Opera poster, 2008
| composer = ] | composer = ]
| librettist = ] | librettist = ]
Line 10: Line 12:
| premiere_location = ] | premiere_location = ]
}} }}

'''''Doctor Atomic''''' is an ] by the contemporary American composer ], with ] by ]. It premiered at the ] on October 1, 2005. The work focuses on the great stress and anxiety experienced by those at ] while the test of the first ] (the "]" test) was being prepared. In 2007, a documentary was made about the creation of the opera, titled ''Wonders Are Many''.<ref>, ''New York Times'', by Stephen Holden, May 30, 2008</ref> '''''Doctor Atomic''''' is an ] by the contemporary American composer ], with a ] by ]. It premiered at the ] on October 1, 2005. The work focuses on how leading figures at ] dealt with the great stress and anxiety of preparing for the test of the first ] (the "]" test).

In 2007, a documentary was made by ] about the creation of the opera and collaboration between Adams and Sellars, titled ''Wonders Are Many''.<ref>, '']'', by ], May 30, 2008</ref>


==Composition history== ==Composition history==
The first act takes place about a month before the bomb is to be tested, and the second act is set in the early morning of July 16, 1945 (the day of the test). During the second act, time frequently slows down for the characters and then snaps back into reality. The opera ends in the final, prolonged moment before the bomb is detonated. Although the original commission for the opera suggested that U.S. physicist ], the "father of the atomic bomb," be fashioned as a 20th-century ], Adams and Sellars deliberately attempted to avoid this characterization. ] worked for two years with Adams on the project before leaving, objecting to the characterization of ], as dictated by the original commission.<ref>{{cite AV media|last=Murray|first=Jenni|title=Curate and Librettist: An Interview with Alice Goodman|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_34_mon_01.shtml|publisher=BBC|date=August 22, 2005|access-date=March 4, 2014}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=June 2020|reason=The referenced interview is no longer available}} The first act takes place about a month before the bomb is to be tested, and the second act is set in the early morning of July 16, 1945 (the day of the test). During the second act, time is shown slowing down for the characters and then snapping back to the clock. The opera ends in the final, prolonged moment before the bomb is detonated.
Although the original commission for the opera suggested that U.S. physicist ], the "father of the atomic bomb", be fashioned as a 20th-century ], Adams and Sellars deliberately worked to avoid this characterization. ] worked for two years with Adams on the project before leaving. She objected to the characterization of ], as dictated by the original commission.<ref>{{cite news |last=Service|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Service|title='This was the start of a new epoch in human history'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/sep/29/classicalmusicandopera1|access-date=August 8, 2023|work=]|date=September 29, 2005}}</ref>


The work centers on key players in the ], especially Robert Oppenheimer, General ], and also features ], Robert's wife. Sellars adapted the libretto from primary historical sources.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} The work centers on key players in the ], especially Robert Oppenheimer and General ]. It also features ], Robert's wife. Sellars adapted the libretto from primary historical sources.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}


''Doctor Atomic'' is similar in style to previous Adams operas '']'' and '']'', both of which explored the characters and personalities that were involved in historical incidents, rather than a re-enactment of the events themselves.<ref name=TR> by Timothy Robson, bachtrack, 1 December 2013</ref> ''Doctor Atomic'' is similar in style to previous Adams operas '']'' and '']'', both of which explored the characters and personalities of figures who were involved in historical incidents, rather than a re-enactment of the events themselves.<ref name=TR> by Timothy Robson, '']'', December 1, 2013</ref>


===Libretto=== ===Libretto===
Much of the text from the opera was adapted from declassified U.S. government documents and communications among the scientists, government officials, and military personnel who were involved in the project.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Other borrowed texts include poetry by ] and ], the Holy Sonnets of ], quotes from the '']'', and a traditional ] Indian song.<ref name="tewa">''Songs of the Tewa'' by Herbert J. Spinden, 1933, reprinted by Sunstone Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1997</ref> Sellars adapted much of the text for the opera from declassified U.S. government documents and communications among the scientists, government officials, and military personnel who were involved in the project.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} He also included poetry by ] and ], the '']'' of ], quotes from the '']'', and a traditional ] native song.<ref name="tewa">''Songs of the Tewa'' by ], 1933, reprinted by Sunstone Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1997</ref>


'''Opening chorus''' ====Opening chorus====


Marvin Cohen, professor of physics at ] and president of the ] at the time, criticized some parts of the libretto for not being strictly scientifically correct,<ref>, ''The Berkeleyan'' September 22, 2005</ref> in particular the original opening lines which were excerpted from the 1945 ]: ], professor of physics at ] and president of the ] at the time, criticized some parts of the libretto for not being strictly scientifically correct.<ref>, ''The Berkeleyan'', September 22, 2005</ref> In particular he took issue with the original opening lines, which were excerpted from the 1945 ]:
:"Matter can be neither created nor destroyed but only altered in form. :"Matter can be neither created nor destroyed but only altered in form.
:Energy can be neither created nor destroyed but only altered in form." :Energy can be neither created nor destroyed but only altered in form."


Following Cohen's criticism, Adams rewrote the opening chorus,{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} so that it now reads: Following Cohen's criticism, Adams rewrote the opening chorus,{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} which now reads:
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">We believed that <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">We believed that
"Matter can be neither "Matter can be neither
Line 43: Line 50:
and thus be altered in form.</poem> and thus be altered in form.</poem>


'''Conclusion of act 1''' ====Conclusion of act 1====


The aria, sung by Oppenheimer, uses text from Donne's ] XIV: The aria, sung by Oppenheimer, uses text from Donne's "]":
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Batter my heart, three person’d God; For you <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Batter my heart, three person'd God; For you
As yet but knock, breathe, knock, breathe, knock, breathe As yet but knock, breathe, knock, breathe, knock, breathe
Shine, and seek to mend; Shine, and seek to mend;
Batter my heart, three person’d God; Batter my heart, three person'd God;
That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, break, blow, break, blow Your force, to break, blow, break, blow, break, blow
burn and make me new. burn and make me new.
Line 57: Line 64:
Labor to admit you, but Oh, to no end, Labor to admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend, Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv’d, and proves weak or untrue, But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue,
Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov’d fain, Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth’d unto your enemy, But am betroth'd unto your enemy,
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again, Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Line 65: Line 72:
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.</poem> Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.</poem>


'''The act 2, scene iii chorus''' ====Act 2, scene 3 chorus====


This was borrowed from the ''Bhagavad Gita'' (translated into English by ] and ]){{citation needed|date=July 2015}} and reads: This was borrowed from the ''Bhagavad Gita'' (translated into English by ] and ]){{citation needed|date=July 2015}} and reads:
Line 78: Line 85:
All my peace is gone; my heart is troubled.</poem> All my peace is gone; my heart is troubled.</poem>


'''Act 2 traditional ] song''' ====Act 2, traditional Tewa song====


This act is peppered with a repeated refrain from Pasqualita, the Oppenheimers' Tewa Indian housemaid. The text comes from a traditional Tewa song, and subsequent reiterations repeat the text with the direction changed to ''west'', ''east'', and ''south'':<ref name="tewa" /> This act is peppered with a repeated refrain from Pasqualita, the Oppenheimers' ] Native American housemaid. The text comes from a traditional Tewa song, and subsequent reiterations repeat the text with the direction changed to ''west'', ''east'', and ''south'':<ref name="tewa" />
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">In the north the cloud-flower blossoms <poem style="margin-left: 2em;">In the north the cloud-flower blossoms
And now the lightning flashes And now the lightning flashes
Line 89: Line 96:


===Subsequent productions=== ===Subsequent productions===
In June 2007 this production made its European première at ] in Amsterdam. It then opened in December 2007 at the ], again directed by Sellars, with Finley and Owens reprising their roles. Adams and Sellars made "some significant changes" to the opera and production in response to feedback from the San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Chicago productions.<ref>], , ''The New York Times'', December 17, 2007 (Retrieved February 9, 2009)</ref> In June 2007 this production made its European première at ] in Amsterdam. It then opened in December 2007 at the ], again directed by Sellars, with Finley and Owens reprising their roles. Adams and Sellars made "some significant changes" to the opera and production in response to feedback from the San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Chicago productions.<ref>], , '']'', December 17, 2007 (Retrieved February 9, 2009)</ref>


A new production of the opera, directed by the film director ] and conducted by ], was performed at the ] in New York<ref>Westphal, Matthew, , ''Playbill Arts'', August 15, 2007</ref> in October 2008 and was part of the ] series on November 8, 2008. The assistant conductor for this production was also ]. The ] video of the production was later televised nationally on ] as well, in the ''Great Performances at the Met'' series in December 2008. On January 17, 2009, the Met production of the opera was heard on ] as part of the Saturday afternoon ]. Penny Woolcock's production was restaged by the ] in London, February 25 to March 20, 2009 with ] reprising his portrayal of the lead.<ref>Andrew Clements, , ''The Guardian'' (London), 26 February 2009. (Retrieved March 4, 2014)</ref> The 2008 Met production was streamed online on June 23 and December 8, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Week 15|url=https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/week-15/|access-date=2020-10-15|website=www.metopera.org|language=en}}</ref> A new production of the opera, directed by the film director ] and conducted by ], was performed at the ] in New York<ref>Westphal, Matthew, , '']'', August 15, 2007</ref> in October 2008 and was part of the ] series on November 8, 2008. The assistant conductor for this production was also ]. The ] video of the production was later televised nationally on ] as well, in the ''Great Performances at the Met'' series in December 2008. On January 17, 2009, the Met production of the opera was heard on ] as part of the Saturday afternoon ]. Penny Woolcock's production was restaged by the ] in London, February 25 to March 20, 2009, with ] reprising his portrayal of the lead.<ref>Andrew Clements, , '']'' (London), 26 February 2009. (Retrieved March 4, 2014)</ref> The 2008 Met production was streamed online without charge on June 23 and December 8, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Week 15|url=https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/week-15/|access-date=2020-10-15|website=www.metopera.org|language=en}}</ref> In July 2023 the opera was performed in an abandoned train warehouse in ] as part of a science and music festival.<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Doctor Atomic''|url=https://doctoratomic.nl/|access-date=2023-07-09|website=doctoratomic.nl|language=nl}}</ref> The performance has the support of both the composer and the librettist. <ref>{{YouTube|id=0FOhtDJ6aYk|title=Interview met componist John Adams}}</ref>


==Roles== ==Roles==
{| class="wikitable" {| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types, premiere cast}}
!Role !Role
!] !]
!Premiere cast, October 1, 2005<br>(Conductor: ]) !Premiere cast, October 1, 2005<br>Conductor: ]
|- |-
|] |]
Line 117: Line 125:
|] |]
|] |]
|] |]
|- |-
|Frank Hubbard<ref group=n>Hubbard's first name is also given as "Jack" in some sources.</ref> |Frank Hubbard<ref group=n>Hubbard's first name is also given as "Jack" in some sources.</ref>
Line 133: Line 141:
<references group=n /> <references group=n />


Adams had written the role of Kitty Oppenheimer for the ] ]. However, she was unable to commit to the project due to her health (she died soon after the work premiered). The work was sung in the world premiere by mezzo ].<ref> by ], 3 October 2005; also published in '']'', October 3, 2005, pp.&nbsp;60–71</ref> For the second major production, at ], Adams reworked the role for a ], ].<ref>, The Netherlands Opera recording</ref> For the Metropolitan Opera Premiere, the role was again sung by a mezzo, ].<ref name=TR /> Adams had written the role of Kitty Oppenheimer for the ] ]. However, she was unable to commit to the project due to her health (she died soon after the work premiered). The work was sung in the world premiere by mezzo ].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.therestisnoise.com/2005/09/doctor_atomic.html|title=''Doctor Atomic'' – Countdown|author=]|date=October 3, 2005|via=therestisnoise.com|magazine=]|pages=60–71}}</ref> For the second major production, at ], Adams reworked the role for a ], ].<ref>, The Netherlands Opera recording</ref> For the Metropolitan Opera Premiere, the role was again sung by a mezzo, ].<ref name=TR />

]


==''Doctor Atomic Symphony''== ==''Doctor Atomic Symphony''==
In 2007, Adams adapted the opera into the ''Doctor Atomic Symphony''. Music was taken from the overture, various interludes and orchestral settings were made of arias like Oppenheimer's signature "Batter My Heart." The work was first premiered by the ] and conducted by the composer on August 21, 2007, at a ] concert. The work was later performed at ] in Spring 2008. Originally composed in four movements and lasting 45 minutes, the symphony was revised by Adams to just three movements (played without a break) and 25 minutes' length. This version was recorded in 2008 by the St. Louis Symphony, conducted by David Robertson and released by ] on July 20, 2009.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606205405/http://www.earbox.com/W-doctoratomic-symphony.html |date=June 6, 2010 }}</ref><ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217034836/http://www.earbox.com/W-doctoratomic.html |date=February 17, 2010 }}, details of the opera on Adams' website</ref> In 2007, Adams adapted the opera into the ''Doctor Atomic Symphony''. Music was taken from the overture, various interludes and orchestral settings were made of arias like Oppenheimer's signature "Batter My Heart". The work was first premiered by the ] and conducted by the composer on August 21, 2007, at a ] concert. The work was later performed at ] in Spring 2008. Originally composed in four movements and lasting 45 minutes, the symphony was revised by Adams to just three movements (played without a break) and 25 minutes' length. This version was recorded in 2008 by the St. Louis Symphony, conducted by David Robertson and released by ] on July 20, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Doctor Atomic Symphony'' on Adams' website |url=http://www.earbox.com/W-doctoratomic-symphony.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606205405/http://www.earbox.com/W-doctoratomic-symphony.html |archive-date=June 6, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217034836/http://www.earbox.com/W-doctoratomic.html |date=February 17, 2010 }}, details of the opera on Adams' website</ref>


==Recordings== ==Recordings==
*2008: DVD widescreen DTS sound; or Blu-ray widescreen Dolby True HD sound with Gerald Finley as J. Robert Oppenheimer; conductor: ]; Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus; Studio: Opus Arte *2008: DVD widescreen DTS sound; or Blu-ray widescreen Dolby True HD sound with Gerald Finley as J. Robert Oppenheimer; conductor: ]; ] and Chorus; Studio: Opus Arte
*2008 ]: Production by ], conducted by ], with Gerald Finley as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Sasha Cooke as Kitty Oppenheimer, Richard Paul Fink as Edward Teller, and Thomas Glenn as Robert Wilson. Recorded live on 8 November 2008 at the ], New York City.<ref>Streaming HD video: , Met Opera on Demand; , Met Opera Archive; DVD: Sony, 2011 ({{OCLC|698771636}}).</ref>
*2012: ]-winning audio recording with Gilbert, Finley, Cooke, Fink, Glenn, Metropolitan Opera, 2008 Sony *2012: ]-winning audio recording with Gilbert, Finley, Cooke, Fink, Glenn, Metropolitan Opera, 2008 Sony
*2018: ]-Nominated Official audio recording with Gerald Finley, Julia Bullock, Jennifer Johnston, Brindley Sherratt, Andrew Staples, Marcus Farnsworth, Aubrey Allicock, BBC singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Adams, 2018 Nonesuch Records *2018: ]-nominated official audio recording with Gerald Finley, ], ], Brindley Sherratt, ], Marcus Farnsworth, Aubrey Allicock, ], ], John Adams, 2018 ]


==See also== ==See also==
{{Portal|Opera}} {{Portal|Opera}}
*'']'', a play by ] about a 1941 meeting of ] and ] in Copenhagen * '']'', a play by ] about a 1941 meeting of ] and ] in Copenhagen
* ], film directed by ] and released in July 2023


==References== ==References==
Line 152: Line 164:
==External links== ==External links==
*, John Adams' website *, John Adams' website
*, Metropolitan Opera *, Metropolitan Opera
* – Details the sources and quotes in the libretto *, details the sources and quotes in the libretto
* *
* *
Line 159: Line 171:
* *
* *
* from ionarts * by Karren L. Alenier, October 1, 2005, ionarts blog
* the San Francisco ] * the San Francisco ]
*''Wonders Are Many'' (2007 documentary), the making of the opera and preparation for its San Francisco debut ({{IMDb title|0912601|Wonders Are Many|(2007)}}) *''Wonders Are Many'' (2007 documentary), the making of the opera and preparation for its San Francisco debut ({{IMDb title|id=0912601|title=Wonders Are Many|description=(2007)}})
⚫ *, '']'', October 28, 2008
*
* at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
⚫ *


{{John Adams (composer)}} {{John Adams (composer)}}
{{authority control}} {{authority control}}


⚫ ]
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Latest revision as of 01:51, 6 January 2025

Opera by John Adams For the underground comic, see Larry Todd.

Doctor Atomic
Opera by John Adams
Metropolitan Opera poster, 2008
LibrettistPeter Sellars
LanguageEnglish
Premiere1 October 2005 (2005-10-01)
San Francisco Opera

Doctor Atomic is an opera by the contemporary American composer John Adams, with a libretto by Peter Sellars. It premiered at the San Francisco Opera on October 1, 2005. The work focuses on how leading figures at Los Alamos dealt with the great stress and anxiety of preparing for the test of the first atomic bomb (the "Trinity" test).

In 2007, a documentary was made by Jon H. Else about the creation of the opera and collaboration between Adams and Sellars, titled Wonders Are Many.

Composition history

The first act takes place about a month before the bomb is to be tested, and the second act is set in the early morning of July 16, 1945 (the day of the test). During the second act, time is shown slowing down for the characters and then snapping back to the clock. The opera ends in the final, prolonged moment before the bomb is detonated.

Although the original commission for the opera suggested that U.S. physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb", be fashioned as a 20th-century Doctor Faustus, Adams and Sellars deliberately worked to avoid this characterization. Alice Goodman worked for two years with Adams on the project before leaving. She objected to the characterization of Edward Teller, as dictated by the original commission.

The work centers on key players in the Manhattan Project, especially Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves. It also features Kitty Oppenheimer, Robert's wife. Sellars adapted the libretto from primary historical sources.

Doctor Atomic is similar in style to previous Adams operas Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer, both of which explored the characters and personalities of figures who were involved in historical incidents, rather than a re-enactment of the events themselves.

Libretto

Sellars adapted much of the text for the opera from declassified U.S. government documents and communications among the scientists, government officials, and military personnel who were involved in the project. He also included poetry by Charles Baudelaire and Muriel Rukeyser, the Holy Sonnets of John Donne, quotes from the Bhagavad Gita, and a traditional Tewa native song.

Opening chorus

Marvin Cohen, professor of physics at UC Berkeley and president of the American Physical Society at the time, criticized some parts of the libretto for not being strictly scientifically correct. In particular he took issue with the original opening lines, which were excerpted from the 1945 Smyth Report:

"Matter can be neither created nor destroyed but only altered in form.
Energy can be neither created nor destroyed but only altered in form."

Following Cohen's criticism, Adams rewrote the opening chorus, which now reads:

We believed that
"Matter can be neither
created nor destroyed
but only altered in form."
We believed that
"Energy can be neither
created nor destroyed
but only altered in form."
But now we know that
energy may become matter,
and now we know that
matter may become energy
and thus be altered in form.

Conclusion of act 1

The aria, sung by Oppenheimer, uses text from Donne's "Holy Sonnet XIV":

Batter my heart, three person'd God; For you
As yet but knock, breathe, knock, breathe, knock, breathe
Shine, and seek to mend;
Batter my heart, three person'd God;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, break, blow, break, blow
burn and make me new.

I, like an usurpt town, to another due,
Labor to admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue,
Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy,
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

Act 2, scene 3 chorus

This was borrowed from the Bhagavad Gita (translated into English by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood) and reads:

At the sight of this, your Shape stupendous,
Full of mouths and eyes, feet, thighs and bellies,
Terrible with fangs, O master,
All the worlds are fear-struck, even just as I am.

When I see you, Vishnu, omnipresent,
Shouldering the sky, in hues of rainbow,
With your mouths agape and flame-eyes staring—
All my peace is gone; my heart is troubled.

Act 2, traditional Tewa song

This act is peppered with a repeated refrain from Pasqualita, the Oppenheimers' Tewa Native American housemaid. The text comes from a traditional Tewa song, and subsequent reiterations repeat the text with the direction changed to west, east, and south:

In the north the cloud-flower blossoms
And now the lightning flashes
And now the thunder clashes
And now the rain comes down! A-a-aha, a-a-aha, my little one.

Performance history

Subsequent productions

In June 2007 this production made its European première at De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. It then opened in December 2007 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, again directed by Sellars, with Finley and Owens reprising their roles. Adams and Sellars made "some significant changes" to the opera and production in response to feedback from the San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Chicago productions.

A new production of the opera, directed by the film director Penny Woolcock and conducted by Alan Gilbert, was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in October 2008 and was part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series on November 8, 2008. The assistant conductor for this production was also Donato Cabrera. The HD video of the production was later televised nationally on PBS as well, in the Great Performances at the Met series in December 2008. On January 17, 2009, the Met production of the opera was heard on NPR as part of the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. Penny Woolcock's production was restaged by the English National Opera in London, February 25 to March 20, 2009, with Gerald Finley reprising his portrayal of the lead. The 2008 Met production was streamed online without charge on June 23 and December 8, 2020. In July 2023 the opera was performed in an abandoned train warehouse in Utrecht as part of a science and music festival. The performance has the support of both the composer and the librettist.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, October 1, 2005
Conductor: Donald Runnicles
J. Robert Oppenheimer baritone Gerald Finley
Kitty Oppenheimer mezzo-soprano or soprano Kristine Jepson
Gen Leslie Groves bass Eric Owens
Edward Teller dramatic baritone Richard Paul Fink
Robert R. Wilson tenor Thomas G. Glenn
Frank Hubbard baritone James Maddalena
Captain James Nolan tenor Jay Hunter Morris
Pasqualita mezzo-soprano or contralto Beth Clayton
  1. Hubbard's first name is also given as "Jack" in some sources.

Adams had written the role of Kitty Oppenheimer for the mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. However, she was unable to commit to the project due to her health (she died soon after the work premiered). The work was sung in the world premiere by mezzo Kristine Jepson. For the second major production, at De Nederlandse Opera, Adams reworked the role for a soprano, Jessica Rivera. For the Metropolitan Opera Premiere, the role was again sung by a mezzo, Sasha Cooke.

Portrait of composer John Adams
John Adams

Doctor Atomic Symphony

In 2007, Adams adapted the opera into the Doctor Atomic Symphony. Music was taken from the overture, various interludes and orchestral settings were made of arias like Oppenheimer's signature "Batter My Heart". The work was first premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the composer on August 21, 2007, at a BBC Proms concert. The work was later performed at Carnegie Hall in Spring 2008. Originally composed in four movements and lasting 45 minutes, the symphony was revised by Adams to just three movements (played without a break) and 25 minutes' length. This version was recorded in 2008 by the St. Louis Symphony, conducted by David Robertson and released by Nonesuch Records on July 20, 2009.

Recordings

See also

References

  1. "Mixing Art and Science to Get Doomsday", The New York Times, by Stephen Holden, May 30, 2008
  2. Service, Tom (September 29, 2005). "'This was the start of a new epoch in human history'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Met in HD, Doctor Atomic, 2008" by Timothy Robson, Bachtrack, December 1, 2013
  4. ^ Songs of the Tewa by Herbert J. Spinden, 1933, reprinted by Sunstone Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1997
  5. "Libretto takes liberties with fundamental physics: Professor's technical concerns fall on deaf ears", The Berkeleyan, September 22, 2005
  6. Tommasini, Anthony, "Doctor Atomic: Tweaking a Definitive Moment in History", The New York Times, December 17, 2007 (Retrieved February 9, 2009)
  7. Westphal, Matthew, "Met and ENO to Collaborate on Productions of Adams's Doctor Atomic, New Golijov Opera", Playbill Arts, August 15, 2007
  8. Andrew Clements, "Doctor Atomic", The Guardian (London), 26 February 2009. (Retrieved March 4, 2014)
  9. "Week 15". www.metopera.org. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  10. "Doctor Atomic". doctoratomic.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  11. Interview met componist John Adams on YouTube
  12. Alex Ross (October 3, 2005). "Doctor Atomic – Countdown". The New Yorker. pp. 60–71 – via therestisnoise.com.
  13. Doctor Atomic, The Netherlands Opera recording
  14. "Doctor Atomic Symphony on Adams' website". Archived from the original on June 6, 2010.
  15. Doctor Atomic Archived February 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, details of the opera on Adams' website
  16. Streaming HD video: Doctor Atomic (8 November 2008), Met Opera on Demand; "CID:352679", Met Opera Archive; DVD: Sony, 2011 (OCLC 698771636).

External links

John Adams
Operas
Orchestral works
Concertante
Chamber music
Other ensemble works
Choral music
Piano works
Film score
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