Doctor Atomic is the product of a six-year collaboration between composer John Adams and director Peter Sellars, whose previous operas together include Nixon in China and The Death of Kling-hoffer.

What is Doctor Atomic based on?

It’s about the first test of a nuclear weapon at Los Alamos in 1945. It’s now on stage at the San Francisco Opera. The story is based on Richard Rhodes’ book “The Making of the Atomic Bomb,” and John Adams admits that the title of the opera, “Doctor Atomic,” has the ring of a 1950s B-movie. Mr.

Who wrote the text for the aria Batter my heart from Doctor Atomic?

Doctor Atomic is an opera by the contemporary American composer John Adams, with libretto by Peter Sellars.

When was Doctor Atomic written?

Doctor Atomic was written by composer John Adams for San Francisco Opera in 2005.

Who wrote the music for the opera Doctor Atomic quizlet?

John Adams is considered a post-minimalist composer. John Adams won a Pulitzer Prize for a work that sets the names of the victims of 9/11. John Adams’s Doctor Atomic is based on a comic book hero. John Adams’s Doctor Atomic is the result of collaboration with a playwright/director.

How long is Nixon in China?

Nixon in China took two full years to complete. Throughout the composing I felt like I was pregnant with the royal heir, so great was the attention focused on it by the media and the musical community at large.

What year does Doctor Atomic take place?

Synopsis. The opera begins in June of 1945, a few weeks before the Trinity Test. Since Germany’s surrender in May, a group of scientists working on the bomb have begun to harbor misgivings about the planned use of the bomb against Japan.

What is the subject of the opera Doctor Atomic?

His Doctor Atomic explores a momentous episode in modern history: the invention and detonation of the first atomic bomb. The opera centers on Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist who oversaw the Manhattan Project, the govern- ment project to develop atomic weaponry.

Which character sings the aria Batter my heart?

It’s Adams’s haunting setting of John Donne’s paradoxical “Holy Sonnet: Batter My Heart, Three-Person’d God” which ends the first act. On this recording, it’s sung by baritone Gerald Finley who created the role of the tormented Oppenheimer.

Who composed Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer?

On The Death Of Klinghoffer. Even before Nixon in China was off the ground, Peter Sellars had another idea, an opera also drawn from a recent news event but which would be as tragic and elegiac in tone as Nixon was celebratory and ironic.

Article first time published on

Is there a chorus in Doctor Atomic?

The opera, with music by John Adams and libretto by Peter Sellars, who is also the director of this production, is rooted in the origins of tragedy in ancient Greek theater—with its invention of the chorus that functions as a medium of human awareness and an omniscient commentator on the follies of mankind, just as the …

Which composer is considered a post minimalist?

The music of John Adams is usually categorized as minimalist or post-minimalist although in interview he has categorised himself as a ‘post-style’ composer. While Adams employs minimalist techniques, such as repeating patterns, he is not a strict follower of the movement.

Who is the librettist for Doctor Atomic quizlet?

The librettist for Doctor Atomic is: Peter Sellars.

Which of the following was a source for the libretto of Dr Atomic?

The libretto of Doctor Atomic was created by Peter Sellars, drawing on original source material, including personal memoirs, recorded interviews, technical manuals of nuclear physics, declassified government documents, and the poetry of Muriel Rukeyser, an American poet and contemporary of Oppenheimer.

What genre best describes blue cathedral?

blue cathedral is an orchestral composition by the American composer Jennifer Higdon.

Which of the following composers wrote the opera Nixon in China group of answer choices?

Nixon in China, opera in three acts by John Adams (with an English libretto by Alice Goodman), which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera in 1987.

Why is John Adams considered a post minimalist composer?

John Adams is considered a post-minimalist composer. … John Adams’s eclectic approach combines elements of the – style with traits of neo-Romanticism, forging a post-minimalist style in his – Doctor Atomic.

When was Nixon in China written?

Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams’ first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris.

Who said only Nixon could go to China?

The expression came in the 1991 film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in which “only Nixon could go to China” is quoted by Spock as “an old Vulcan proverb.” In the context of the film, itself an allegory of thawing relations between the US and the former Soviet Union, it is given as a reason why James T.

Where was opera born?

A Brief History of Opera Born in Italy more than 400 years ago during the Renaissance, opera—a combination of vocal and orchestral music, drama, visual arts and dance—has been inspiring people for ages.

What music did John Adams like?

Adams professes his love of other genres other than classical music; his parents were jazz musicians, and he has also listened to rock music, albeit only passively.

When the mood of the music contradicts what is being shown on the screen it is called?

When the mood of the music contradicts what is being shown on the screen, it is called. contradicting the action.

What kind of opera is The Death of Klinghoffer?

The Death of Klinghoffer is an American opera, with music by John Adams to an English-language libretto by Alice Goodman.

Who choreographed Nixon in China?

ChoreographyMark MorrisMusicJohn Adams – Nixon in ChinaLighting DesignJames F. IngallsCostume DesignDunya RamicovaScenic DesignAdrianne Lobel

Which work by John Adams is based on the 1985 hijacking of a cruise liner by Palestinian terrorists quizlet?

The Death of Klinghoffer (1991) was based on the hijacking by Palestinian terrorists of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985 and the killing of a disabled Jewish passenger.

Which statement accurately describes expressionism?

Which statement accurately describes “Expressionism”? It is a movement that sought to depict objects, not as they are seen, but through the strong emotions they generate in the artist or composer.

What famous music school did composer Nico Muhly attend?

Born in Vermont, Muhly studied composition at the Juilliard School before working as an editor and conductor for Philip Glass. He is part of the artist-run record label Bedroom Community, which released his first two albums, Speaks Volumes (2006) and Mothertongue (2008). He lives in New York City.

How do minimalism and post minimalism differ?

In visual art, postminimalist art uses minimalism either as an aesthetic or conceptual reference point. Postminimalism is more an artistic tendency than a particular movement. Postminimalist artworks are usually everyday objects, use simple materials, and sometimes take on a “pure”, formalist aesthetic.

What did John Adams win for On the Transmigration of Souls?

John Adams took on a major responsibility when, shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, he accepted the assignment to compose music for New York Philharmonic performances marking the first anniversary of the attacks. The piece ended up earning him a Pulitzer Prize.

What did John Adams win a Pulitzer Prize for?

BMI composer John Adams has been awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his orchestral work, On the Transmigration of Souls, a memorial to September 11.