Amazon Adams: Doctor Atomic

Adams: Doctor Atomic

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Editorial Review:

The longing to overcome human boundaries lead the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to begin an experiment that formed a threat to the whole of humanity, and whose scientific results still do today. The question of the moral implications of the atomic bomb is raised in John Adams opera, just as much as that of the influence on the private lives of the main characters. Doctor Atomic is the fifth work to result from almost twenty years of collaboration between the American composer and his fellow American director and Erasmus Prize-winner Peter Sellars. Doctor Atomic concerns itself with the work of J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists at the test site of the first atomic bomb outside Los Alamos, New Mexico during the lead-up to the first detonation. As Zero Hour relentlessly approaches and conditions become less and less favorable, individual tensions build feverishly and Oppenheimer and his staff struggle with the moral implications of their work on 'the Gadget', and the strong possibility of global annihilation. Recorded in high definition video and true surround sound, John Adams' fascinating, overwhelming score and Peter Sellars' forceful staging (and TV direction) portray Oppenheimer, exquisitely sung by Gerald Finley, as a profoundly troubled man, at odds with himself but moving inexorably forward, representative of the great ethical dilemmas of humanity itself.

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

• Fatuous
  All right, I'm not a fan of Adams' music: it's hard to make minimalist music reach very far, which comes down to saying that harmonic stretch is the essence of what makes western classical music work. There might be some disagreement there, which is fine with me.
  What bothers me is what bothers me about Adams' other political ("political") operas: he deals with controversial subject matter and then pretends that it's not controversial because he's "seeing all sides." This allows him the intellectually... more info

• A brilliant production BUT
  Is the music larger than the production? This is a very powerful work. Almost a horror story but unfortunately the horrible bomb is all too real. The production by librettist and collaborator Peter Sellars is powerful. The story is the creation of the first atomic bomb, and its creator Dr Oppenheimer is the protagonist. Doctor Atomic is must seeing for Gerald Finley alone. This is an awesome performance. He nails the character perfectly. And of course his singing is exemplary as usual. The other singers... more info

• Great singing, Beautiful music, horrible filming
  This production is 95% very, very close-up full face shots. There are no, zero, full stage shots. Very Occasionally there is a full body shot. There is absolutely no sense of theater at all.
  This opera could have been filmed in an 8 x 12 foot room. No sense of space exists. DAS BOOT had more wide shots. Even the dance sequences, by famed choreographer Lucinda Childs, are shown in half body, never in full ensamble. There were close-ups that showed only an EYE, full screen. The average cut away was about... more info

• Finley's aria is fantastic, but it's in the wrong opera
  When a local theater subscribed to the Metropolitan Opera's HD LIVE series and broadcast DR. ATOMIC on November 8th I decided I shouldn't miss it. I'm not a fan of Adams, but the subject matter is so important, and it had been brought to my doorstep...
  DR. ATOMIC has its moments. The first act builds up to a tremendous aria, Gerald Finley singing "Batter My Heart," one of the Holy Sonnets of John Donne, as the character of Robert Oppenheimer. The first scene is the assembled throng of Manhattan Project... more info

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