Adams: Doctor Atomic

I've held off writing about Dr. Atomic. I've now watched it for the third time and haven't changed my mind. It's a masterpiece. There's no denying some of the power of the score, but it is in the many more introspective moments that I find its most arresting beauty and power.

Gerald Finley - a singer I went nuts for as Papageno nearly 20 years ago, still has a marvelously appealing boyish handsomeness that suits this role to a tee. This could be the role of his career so far. The voice is in absolutely peak condition, one of the most beautiful baritones singing today (in my opinion) with a winning combination of brightness, mellowness, one of the most even-sounding vibratos of any singer today and a light rich quality that simply gleams. His body was made for the stage, moving with a relaxed athleticism, and knows how to strike a pose that hits you like a spotlight. In many regards, his intensity reminds me of another favorite singer of mine, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in that his gestures - while highly theatrical, seem germane, perfectly suited to the character - as though they could not be performed any other way. This is star quality that elevates a performance to greatness.

The most powerful moment for me remains the ending of the first act, Oppenheimer's brilliant prayer/aria "Batter my heart, three person'd God." I cannot watch this without tears pouring from first to last. The music itself is remarkable, but combined with Finley's voice, and passionate interpretation, the heightened sense of movement by Peter Sellars and the staging itself, it becomes nearly unbearable in its intensity and beauty. With the bomb behind a curtain, like some templed sacred object behind a veil, Oppenheimer slowly approaches the veil, then turns and falls, and repeats the a series of gestures, each time with increasing intensity rising, falling, beating his heart with fist, hands to his head, then again approaches the veil. Following the final verse, he enters the veiled room, left in silhouhette, his hand raised towards the object itself. It is one of the most beautifully powerful stagings of an aria I've experienced.

Richard Paul Fink is another of my favorite singers and his beautiful bass sound, remarkable diction and fine dramatic instincts make his portrayal of Teller as important as the central role of Oppenheimer, particularly in the first half. Jessica Rivera is simply amazing as Kitty Oppenheimer, her first aria "Am I in your light," as the couple is in bed, her husband trying to study, offers a stunning contrast to all of the music before it. Oppenheim gives up his reading, and responds to her, climbing over and gently caressing her with stanza from Baudelaire. It is a quiet, intimate and beautiful moment.

Eric Ownes offers a richly detailed, entirely believable performance as General Groves, expressing his frustrations, concerns, detailing his weight issues (complete with calorie counts!) in that gorgeous, sonorous baritone of his.

The remainder of the cast, James Maddalena, Thomas Glenn, Jay Hunter Morris, and particularly the oddly moving performance of Ellen Rabiner as Pasqualita, are all up to the same level as the central roles.

I have some issues with the staging, and could have easily been happier if Lucinda Childs' incessant choreography had but cut - by at least half. Some of it is highly effective, such as the angular, ritualistic movement out in the desert, but much of it appeared as though a rehearsal for the Jets and Sharks were taking place at the rear of the stage while an opera was going on.

The chorus of De Nederlandse Opera sings English about as well as any English speaking chorus, and the musical direction of Lawrence Renes with the Netherlands Philharmonic rises to the level of Adams' remarkable score.

If I've any gripe (outside of the unnecessary choreography) it would be one I've made of many live performance videos: no curtain calls or opportunity to see - and share in - the audience's reaction. This is a bad move in my opinion. I understand by the end of viewing this how emotionally drained a viewer can be - I was exhausted - but there were several thousand people cheering this and, apparently, an enormous ovation for the performers. I find it a bit rude as well not to allow these people who'd offered these intense, blazing performances for three hours of a difficult score, the opportunity to take a bow in our respective living rooms.

There are a bunch of extra features, mini documentaries, and interviews that make this an exceptional DVD purchase for anyone interested in the future of opera. A truly overwhelming operatic experience.

A re-working of an earlier review, poorly considered and conceived by me, which gave a wrong impression of my ideas. I love the stage works of John Adams and much of Doctor Atomic works beautifully. Certainly, the subject matter--the making and testing of the atomic bomb and its effects on those involved--is a strong foundation for an opera. The singing is top-notch throughout: it is, in turns, dramatic, luxurious, accomplished, moving, characterful, beautiful. But no one is quite as wonderful as Gerald Finley, one of the great singing actors in the world. The heart of the score is the music of Oppenheimer and his painful confrontation of the moral ambiguities involved in making and testing a nuclear weapon. The musical setting of John Donne's text, "Batter My Heart Three-Person'd God" is some of the best music Adams has written. Finley sings it incomparably. Heart-wrenching and marvelous. On the whole, Act One, though a bit long, is always interesting, beautiful, moving, emotional, thought provoking and well-composed. And happily, on video, the large cast of men is more easily distinguished than when just listening. (I've heard it on the radio.)

Alas, for me, Act Two does not continue this excellence. The first hour or so is taken up with well-meaning ideas about the effect the work of these men has on those who have no say in the matter but will be effected all the same. The first scene is a long soliloquy sung by Kitty Oppenheimer, expressing her feelings of futility, fear, loneliness, etc. LONG is the operative word. The point is made within ten minutes or so (maybe even less) but is over-extended by much more than that. And we have heard her in a strong duet with her husband in Act One. The wife is NOT the character I want to know the most about, and this music does not change my mind (despite repeated listens.) And then the scene for the Native Americans--represented vocally by a single woman--is more repetitive and maybe even less apt. To show the arrogance of the men making these decisions with no regard to the effect it will have on ALL cultures is a fine idea, at least in theory, but it is poorly executed here: too long, too repetitive, and a sad case of "diminishing returns." Perhaps the music is persuasive for five or six minutes. Like the first solo, it lasts far longer than that. And the same ideas are confronted in other ways in the opera, making the endless repetitiveness of the scene more keenly felt. [Side note: when I saw Doctor Atomic at the MET, some people left before this scene had ended--not thundering hoards but enough to disturb the people around them, including me. Just in case you think I am the only one who feels this way.] Then the last half hour or so is back to the greatness of the first act. The highly emotional end builds to a sad, painful, quite disturbing conclusion (as it should be.) DVD might be the best way to experience this. Perhaps Act Two would be more tolerable in pieces. I have always watched (or listened) straight through each act.

The staging is very strong given the nature of the piece, and the set that is the periodic table made three-dimensional is a great idea used wisely (except for the Native American scene, which is living statuary with musical accompaniment.) Production values are high. The actual detonation should get a comment. It is not depicted with an explosion. Personal taste will dictate if it works or not (I think it does.)

John Adams' "Doctor Atomic" is a classic in the making. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times calls it "grimly humane and musically intricate." These DVDs were recorded at the Netherlands Opera in June 2007, in a co-production with the San Francisco Opera (which premiered the work in October 2005) and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Met staged and recorded "Doctor Atomic" in October 2008. New Yorker critic Alex Ross has written a highly informative article about "Doctor Atomic," which can be found on his website, therestisnoise.com.

The cast of this video largely duplicates that of the premiere--
J. Robert Oppenheimer: Gerald Finley
Kitty Oppenheimer: Jessica Rivera
General Leslie Groves: Eric Owens
Edward Teller: Richard Paul Fink
Jack Hubbard: James Maddalena
Robert Wilson: Thomas Glenn
Captain James Nolan: Jay Hunter Morris
Pasqualita: Ellen Rabiner
Musical Director: Lawrence Renes
Stage Director: Peter Sellars
Finley, Owens, and Fink will also appear in the Met production. The DVD includes a detailed, helpful synopsis of the plot and an interview with director Peter Sellars.

The opera focuses on the personal and ethical dilemmas faced by the characters preceding the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico in 1945. Sellars prepared the libretto for the opera, which is compiled from various sources, including writings of atomic scientists and government officials; poetry by Baudelaire, John Donne,and Muriel Rukeyser; and the Bhagavad Gita. The result is profoundly thought-provoking and moving. Adams' music always fits the texts, whether scientific, political, romantic, or philosophical. The choreography features the gestures that we have come to expect from Sellars (although less distracting than in, say, his production of Handel's Theodora). The video "refines yet further the director's vision," writes Ross, "with close-ups giving emotional focus to those whirling tableaux" The singing and acting are first-rate. Overall, the production and its recording are musically and dramatically riveting.

The Met's production, directed by Penny Woolcock, is new and different but lacks the urgency of Sellars' original. My recommendation is to buy this recording right away.