John Adams - Doctor Atomic - Red Alert

[pageturner95]

That build-up...that end...that is the very sound of Chuck Norris having a temper tantrum

[JoeyChernov]

Overall, I liked the Met performance better. I think it imbues much more emotion into the events and decisions, and the visual elements are more refined, and easier to become emotionally drawn into there.

[gryffynda]

Why am I reminded of that big dance scene in West Side Story? lol

[rumpwrestler]

Can anything get more boring than the last John Adams opera??? YEP it's this one. What drivel, what a mess of a libretto. It's for people who think they are hearing something new and adventurous when in fact it's just old-hat and tedious.

[wintereis57]

@rumpwrestler The libretto is based on writings of those involved in the Manhattan project and takes from literary works which were important to Oppenheimer. The one thing Adams could never be accused of neglecting is language and history.  He knows their value, unlike many composers. Considering the historic infamy of librettos, I find this refreshing: "I don't mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is the language I don't understand". Sir Edward Appleton

[sacredlunatic]

what is so banal about it?

[Interfect727]

this dance routine doesn't seem very 'red alertish' to me...

[merriman53]

"Nobody gives a shit what you think." And who thinks anyone gives a shit what you think, particularly if that's typical of your arrogant and intolerant attitude to views you don't share?

[haebee]

let's call out the emperor's new clothes here: john adams is as talentless as philip glass. they both confuse boring with minimalist, childish for child-like. what a waste of perfectly good empty stages.

[jackal59]

@haebee I'm sorry, I can't hear the music you think you hear and are complaining about over the sound of what's actually playing.

[moirasmith]

@haebee Hmmm don't know about Adams but Glass is probably laughing all the way to the bank. So being naked in public gets a reward ... or maybe, just maybe, they weren't actually naked after all? What are you wearing these days?

[JeeRant]

Nonsense. Whatever you think of his music, surely you must acknowledge that Adams has considerably more range and breadth as a composer than Glass ever did. Adams has evolved and progressed as a composer, while Glass is essentially writing the same music he was thirty years ago.

[steve40004]

The dance seems out of place.

[merriman53]

The banality of the choreography fully corresponds to that of the music.

[saladshootavvv]

@merriman53 Go listen to Boulez and Ferneyhough and stop trolling. Nobody gives a shit what you think.

[rumpwrestler]

@saladshootavvv No one in his right mind would listen to Boulez and Furry-hole. THAT is as bad as anything that Adams has composed to date. Boulez just knows how to cover up his poverty striken works with fancy facade-orchestrations.

[RogueRotting360]

@rumpwrestler Your hyperbole and sheer ignorance is hysterical.

[rumpwrestler]

@merriman53 You are being far too kind. This is shit, dreck, you name it. John never really knew a thing about opera and theater, and admits that he is clueless about vocal writing.... Well, anyone with ears can tell that. Except this nitwits here.

[MaestroTJS]

lol, yeah, the dancing is pretty, uhh, ridiculous (I actually wonder if it isn't meant to be satirical), but the music? Awesome.

[DottoreJojo]

Laughable.

[FLefebvre1972]

Very interesting. I really like the music and the dancers...

[4peluchita]

I agree with what you said about the dancers. Was a little uninteresting at the beginning.

[and1ballard]

this music is incredible

[meriomeri]

Second to "Batter My Heart," this is the most touching moment of the opera. Oppenheimer's words... "No, there are no more minutes, no more seconds, time has disappeared-- this is eternity that reigns now." I love the way they had Finley sit for his delivery, almost as if the finality of the situation he helped create is so much for him to bear that he most cower like a child.

[meriomeri]

In the Met production, I mean.

[scampb14]

Nothing minimalist about this segment, unfortunately: borderline Broadway. Ironically the Met version which is far from Minimalist handles this better: more confidence in the music.

[pocketjohnson]

Just come back from it at The English National Opera which co-produced it with the met. Slightly surprised to see a new production after only a few years. I guess the met wanted something more traditional in tone. you're certainly right about the Broadway reference, dramatically i think it has its weaknesses too - Oppeinhemer is not really a forcefully central character nor on the other hand does it seem an ensemble piece

[PngnCake]

love the annotations! oh my this opera was so amazing and all the arias were so beautiful as is this section from Dr. Atomic.

[leocoral]

John Adams is a great composer. Dr. Atomic is incredible.

[bovverboyNL]

DVD is soon / now available from Opus Arte

[ckeledjian]

Is not available yet for purchase, neither video nor CD.

[dalekStewie]

it just came out on amazon

oh and whats the name of the finale?

[mornnb]

Brilliant, what about the aria though? ;)

[TechniCT]

Thank you for the upload. Do you know where I may find this to purchase?