Atomic Opera

How to present a new work in the 21st Century

We couldn't believe our eyes when we first saw it. John Adams is back with his third opera, "Doctor Atomic", set against the background of the explosion of the first atomic bomb at the Alamagordo test site. A psychological piece, the opera will focus on the interaction between the characters involved and end with the succesful launch of the deadliest weapon the world had ever seen. Commissioned by the San Francisco Opera, the cast will consist of Gerald Finley as Robert Oppenheimer, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as his wife Kitty, Eric Owens as General Leslie Groves, Friedemann Rohlig as Edward Teller and others. Peter Sellars has again been responsible for the libretto and he has carefully worked his way through historic material, such as interviews, memoirs and even technical manuals and poetry. The same care that went into the music (world premiere on October 1st) has gone into the construction of the opera's Internet site and it is here that we thought we were in a dream: Some concert halls wouldn't fill their web page with as much information in a complete year! Apart from an overview of the scenes, excerpts from the libretto and even some MIDI files of the score (which sound more than promosing already), there are biographies of the characters and their respective artist representatives, pictures from the set design, notes on the costumes, a "making of" with background information and a historical report including video interviews. This is the way music should be presented in the 21st Century and the San Francisco Opera deserves all the credit. With performances in Europe already scheduled, we hope to be able to bring you updates on the work's impact soon.

Homepage: John Adams
Homepage: Doctor Atomic

Picture by Deborah O'Grady