Dr. Atomic - John Adams Opera

Date: Thu Sep 29 2:09 AM, 2005

Dr. Atomic - John Adams Opera

Date: Tue Oct 4 1:15 AM, 2005

I've been following the reviews - thanks to Google alerts! - of the opera and it seems that most universal praise is reserved for the rendition of "Batter my heart, Three Personed God" which appears to be one of the main highlights. Good to know that Adams is doing Donne justice - as he did with his "Harmonium" score in 1980/1 when Donne's "Negative Love" was the source of his inspiration. I only discovered Adams myself when listening to various composers I had never come across before in relation to my own attempts to set Donne on stage. I was struck by Adams' passion and inventiveness in his scoring, having no idea he felt the same way about Donne. And if anybody does see the opera, I'd still be interested in a first hand review. Thanks!

Date: Tue Oct 4 7:52 PM, 2005

HUGE amounts of commentary over here on this opera! Alex Ross' print-only review in The New Yorker is a MUST READ, as is his extensive blog post at www.therestisnoise.com. Follow his blog links to lots more.

Date: Wed Oct 5 12:46 PM, 2005

Andrea, thanks for the link - I read through all the commentaries which, for now, I'll settle for as the next best thing to actually seeing the opera. Am thrilled that most reviewers pick out the Holy Sonnet - hardly surprising I suppose, but almost as if they were witnessing it for the first time. One reveiw made perfect sense to me - and fits in with my reason for using Donne's own voice on stage - is that spoken, as opposed to read to oneself, the word carry a potency beyond the individual imagination. To set them in this context of Oppenheimer and bearing in mind his own appreciation of Donne, is a fitting, incisive comment on the genius destroyer. I think Donne would have approved! A note on Adams - part of his brilliance as a composer is that I think he uses music metaphysically - his scores make you think. His interpretation of the Big Bang sounds superlative, yet not hyperbolic. I can't wait for it to come to Europe!

Date: Wed Oct 5 2:05 PM, 2005

I've got links to a bunch of Doctor Atomic reviews and blogosphere commentary on my own blog -

http://irontongue.blogspot.com/2005/10/fallout.html

Date: Tue Oct 18 4:18 PM, 2005

Mike, I just read your comments about "Dr Atomic." Two close friends of mine flew from their home in Little Rock to San Francisco last weekend to see the opera. Their niece is in the opera and is the 'Beth' referred to in his email, below. This is in response to your request for feedback from viewers who saw it:

-------------------------------------------------------

I had read about the error cited in the Times beforehand--maybe even in the program notes, which are the most extensive (from various sources) I've seen.

The piece blew me away (hah!)--it really did--although it was flawed for me also--a bit tedious, even, at some points. But I wanted badly to see it a second time. The closing scene was quite moving--the workers prostrate before the explosion--a Japanese woman's voice on the sound system, repeating the same phrase, over and over, and then a low murmur of voices, as from those arising from the ruins.

I think the opera may not appeal to the more sophisticated, because it uses sound effects and (horrors!) the singers are miked. And the libretto hardly tells a story. The history and the music do. The characters are not strongly drawn, I thought. Beth's character, the Indian maid, stands for the mythical (the power of "mythos" I might say) and I suppose literally for the inhabitants around Los Alamos, and so is better drawn as merely from the music and her highly mystical lines. Very low range. Powerful performance.

Oppenheimer's "Batter my heart" at the close of the first act was simply magnificent and worth the trip to California.

So. You can tell. I liked it.

Date: Wed Nov 23 1:23 PM, 2005

~~~I've recently sourced a variety of musical interpretations of Donne's work~~~~

I was "turned on" to John Donne via a pop music album. I don't see it mentioned here, so forgive me if I'm sharing information that most of you already consider common knowledge.

The album is by a British group named "In The Nursery". The album is from 1995, entitled "Duality". Most of the music is instrumental, but two of the songs have spoken word performances featuring Donne's poetry. The music is very lush and cinematic, like a theme from an epic movie.

The first song is named "Corruption", based on Donne's "A Fever". The 2nd song is "A Valediction"... I do not know the name of Donne's poem, but it contains the lines

"If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two,
Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th'other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and harkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must
Like th'other foot, obliquely run;
Thy firmness makes my circle just
And makes me end, where I began."

You can hear excerpts of the album here: http://www.inthenursery.com/duality.html

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Keith Sandberg, Melbourne Florida

Date: Fri Nov 25 2:49 AM, 2005

Keith, that's very interesting - I hadn't heard of In The Nursery before and I listened to the MP3 samples: very cinematic and very close to the kind of music I am looking for to accomapny my own production. Since they hail from Sheffield (a city I visit regularly) and are in the same age bracket as me, there's a good chance they and I have mutual friends in the city! I shall try and track them down. Thanks again for the tip.

Date: Mon Nov 28 9:39 AM, 2005

I have emailed the "In The Nursery" brothers once or twice, and have always received a courteous, personal reply. I'm sure they would be thrilled to assist your project, time permitting. I believe they have also scored movies and plays, and surely have professional contacts throughout the performing arts community.

Date: Sat Dec 10 2:06 AM, 2005

Dear Mike,

My husband and I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of the opera "Doctor Atomic" at the San Francisco Opera House (October 1, 2005). We personally enjoyed it very much, and Gerald Finley's aria "Batter my heart" was superb....the highlight of the opera, as many of the reviews have claimed. The aria is sung at the end of the First Act. The opera itself does have a tragic tone and as a consequence, Adams seems to resist pulling all the stops this time (as one might expect in a traditional opera). It is much more solemn than most from start to finish. One review said that every baritone in the world will be trying to master "Batter my heart" once they hear Finley sing it.

I understand that Donne and Baudelaire were two of Oppenheimer's favorite poets.

Hope you and others have the opportunity to see it someday.

Best,

Helen Brooks

Date: Thu Aug 24 11:52 AM, 2006

Keith Sandberg wrote:

~~~I've recently sourced a variety of musical interpretations of Donne's work~~~~

I was "turned on" to John Donne via a pop music album. I don't see it mentioned here, so forgive me if I'm sharing information that most of you already consider common knowledge.

The album is by a British group named "In The Nursery". The album is from 1995, entitled "Duality". Most of the music is instrumental, but two of the songs have spoken word performances featuring Donne's poetry. The music is very lush and cinematic, like a theme from an epic movie.

The first song is named "Corruption", based on Donne's "A Fever". The 2nd song is "A Valediction"... I do not know the name of Donne's poem, but it contains the lines

"If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two,
Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th'other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and harkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.
Such wilt thou be to me, who must
Like th'other foot, obliquely run;
Thy firmness makes my circle just
And makes me end, where I began."

You can hear excerpts of the album here: http://www.inthenursery.com/duality.html

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Keith Sandberg, Melbourne Florida

I think Donne's poem is called "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning". I was looking for it to send to my wife, who is in South Africa today, while I am in Montreal, on this our 37th wedding anniversary.Good poem if I can remember it afer 44 years. But I sure hope she is not mourning while having such a fine holiday!

Robin Lewis

Date: Fri Jan 19 9:48 AM, 2007

Dear Mr. Elliston,

I haven't seen the opera by John Adams, who utilized 2 poems by Donne; but I am writing one myself about Donne's life and work. For those interested in more information, please write chris@chrisjarrett.de and see my page: www.chrisjarrett.de .

The opera will be staged for the first time in Brandenburg, Germany if we can manage to fund it. I am in the process of trying to raise just these funds at the moment. I am curious about your work as well, so please keep in touch.

with warm greetings,

Chris Jarrett

Date: Tue Mar 16 5:48 AM, 2010

The opera might have benefited from making the action encompass each of the protagonists' postwar reactions to the devastation of Japan (the work is essentially a moral disquisition after all on the issue of nuclear technology used in warfare), but this might have been an endeavour too far. However in its present state it presents a powerful depiction of the dichotomy between personal action and the larger general consequences in this new age of nuclear technology. The subtlety and conviction of its execution, so still, so serious in effect, is deeply impressive.

Term papers

Date: Thu Jul 1 5:09 AM, 2010

Anonymous wrote:

The opera might have benefited from making the action encompass each of the protagonists' postwar reactions to the devastation of Japan (the work is essentially a moral disquisition after all on the issue of nuclear technology used in warfare), but this might have been an endeavour too far. However in its present state it presents a powerful depiction of the dichotomy between personal action and the larger general consequences in this new age of nuclear technology. The subtlety and conviction of its execution, so still, so serious in effect, is deeply impressive.

Term papers

I admit, I have not been on this webpage in a long time... however it was another joy to see It is such an important topic and ignored by so many, even professionals. I thank you to help making people more aware of possible issues.

Date: Wed Jul 28 10:15 AM, 2010

I recently had my first experience of going to the opera in london on a visit there. It truly is a powerful experience to be there and quite unlike anything i have seen before, which surprised me as a was not expecting to enjoy it as much as i did.

self improvements