Adams: Doctor Atomic - Dark Publications

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Product Description
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: Read 5 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

John Adams 21st Century Masterpiece October 9, 2008
38 out of 40 found this review helpful

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.

5 out of 5 stars

A 21st Century Classic August 30, 2008
27 out of 32 found this review helpful

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.

5 out of 5 stars

Thanks for making this opera available! October 15, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

Opera on DVD has taken a great leap forward this year and this opera is no exception. The DVD is presented in 16:9 widescreen format with DTS sound.

Dr. Atomic is to me what opera is all about -- merging story with emotion and this opera packs big emotional kick.

My favorite extra, on disc 1, is the visual synopsis of opera allowing you to easily get to know all the characters.

I highly recommend it.

1 out of 5 stars

Get the History Straight Please November 8, 2008
9 out of 25 found this review helpful

My wife and I had the opportunity to see this through the Met HD Live program in November 2008. Having studied the history of the atomic bomb development extensively as part of a graduate history degree including a week long trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the annual anniversary of their destruction, we were both looking forward to seeing this show. It is always intereting and enlightening to see a gripping historical story told via a different medium.

We were both deeply disappointed. While the score is certainly engaging and momentous at times, the story that Mr. Adams has opted to tell is extremely one-sided and almost wholesale adopts the new revisionist history that many scholars are pushing that paints the United States as aggressor. For those of you who may have less familiarity with the events in the Spring and Summer of 1945 in advance of the Japan bombings, some background is necessary. While initial development of the bomb was started to parry what was believed to be an active and fast-moving German atomic bomb development effort. However, it became fairly clear even before the Allies had Germany on the run that any such bomb effort was small at best and was likely cancelled due to cost and a belief that such a weapon was simply not feasible. For a far more engaging artwork that explores the German bomb program, pick up a copy of Michael Frayn's Copenhagen.

With an investment quickly climbing into the billions, the US decided to continue with the Manhattan project with hopes that the weapon could be completed fast enough to bring an end to the War in the Pacific without an invasion of Japan. It is here where modern historians bifurcate into two main camps. What is clear is that the war was largely won by the Spring of 45 with the Japanese on the run, out of resources, and making at least some overtures for peace through back channels. What is less clear is how serious such peace pursuits were as the public face of the Japanese war machine continued to call for every Japanese to give their life if necessary to continue the prosecution of the war. Some historians (e.g., Gar Alperovitz and Peter Kuznick) have argued that the US pushed ahead with the bomb development while essentially ignoring the Japanese entreaties for peace. The reasons given for such an aggressive position range from the need to demonstrate the bomb as a warning to Russia to simple blatant racism on the part of Truman and others in his administration toward the Japanese. If one adopts this view, then it is a short and slippery slope to considering the US decision as an act of genocide. Proponents of this view downplay the possibility of a Japanese invasion with the subsequent loss of Allied troups as little more than US propaganda.

While I personally believe there is reason to question the US actions, their timing, and the public vs private justifications recorded at the time, there is also extensive evidence to show that Japan was willing to go on fighting indefinitely if they were unable to reach acceptable terms of surrender possibly creating a clear need for some form of invasion. It is this second view that is absent in John Adam's work. Aside from having various storytelling elements that seem to make almost no sense to the main theme of the work, Oppenheimer, the US military, and the US overall are made to look as though they were hell bent to drop atomic bombs on Japan no matter what.

Art of any form is always subjective, representative of the artist viewpoint, and open to a variety of interpretations by the audience viewing the art. In this case, the artwork purports to tell the story of Robert Oppenheimer stating clearly and boldly that his is a modern Faust. The analogy simply does not hold. The history presented is highly skewed. Much of the imagery and allusion is off base and the texts used to create the libretto simply do not work. Save your money on this one. If the topic really interests you, spend the almost four hours of your life that watching this takes to instead read Richard Rhodes' Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

Epilogue: A number of individuals have taken issue with my focus on history and not the artistry, i.e., it's an opera not a history textbook. I have added this epilogue to simply note that John Adams goes out of his way to talk about how he spent significant time determining which historical documents to include as part of the libretto. My point was/is that his selections are highly skewed in my opinion. I did not see the open and purposeful ambiguity to foster thought on the part of the audience that others claim to have seen.

1 out of 5 stars

Great singing, Beautiful music, horrible filming November 22, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

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 every two seconds. The camera never lingered on a singer for more than a second or two. The fine chorus was shown, guess what, as only full face individuals. Gerald Finley was excellent, but did we have to see him in extreme close-up ALL THE TIME. Paul Newman he's not. We have scene after scene of Kitty Openheimer SLEEPING in close-up. There is even a close-up of a plastic baby doll.

This Video is a shame. A wonderful performance ruined by totally inept filming. The video jacket credits the director, Peter Sellers, as the TV director. He must be incompetent or playing a joke on us.

Wait for the Mets HD filming to become available.

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