Doctor Atomic

Premiere on 04. February 2027

Composer John Adams. Libretto by Peter Sellars based on original sources.

Opera in two acts (2005)

Recommended for ages 14 and up

In English. With surtitles in German and English. New Production.

Introductions (in German) take place one hour before the start of each performance (except on opening night) in the Capriccio-Saal. Seating is limited, duration approx. 20 minutes.

The premiere will be broadcast live on BR Klassik. Following the performance, the “Kritische Trio” will discuss the premiere live on BR Klassik. The discussion will be available to watch on Staatsoper.tv the following day.

>>> To the introductory matinee

Medienpartner

New Mexico, early morning, 16 July 1945: Scientists in the team led by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer test the world’s first atomic bomb. The atmosphere is tense, and there is massive time pressure. The bomb is urgently required for the USA to win the war against Japan and deter interference by the Soviet Union. But a storm, the fear of uncontrolled consequences for the environment, and the knowledge that the bomb will fall on civilians, plummet the team into a moral conflict, which threatens to split its cohesion. Ultimately scientific zeal conquers all. The bomb detonates, and thus marks a tipping point in humanity’s relationship with the planet – since this Monday morning it has the power to destroy the world. “Little Boy“ and “Fat Man” fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki three weeks later.For American composer John Adams, the story surrounding Oppenheimer, the “American Faust“, is the great mythological tale of the modern period – a man who unleashes forces that he himself cannot control, and which threaten to destroy everything. The basis for the semi-documentary opera is provided by original historical documents and poetic texts from Oppenheimer’s bookshelf, including works by Charles Baudelaire and the central scripture of Hinduism, the Bhagavad Gita. While Adams’s first opera, Nixon in China, still aligned with the minimalist style, in Doctor Atomic, his third opera, virtually gigantic, dynamic and expressive high points ring out – a combination of minimalism with neo-romantic forms of expression and echoes, tending towards traditional opera forms, such as arias, choirs and ballet interludes.

This is the first time a John Adams opera will ring out in the Nationaltheater. Claus Guth, a cherished friend of the institution with his sixth work at the Bayerische Staatsoper, takes the helm to stage the Munich premiere. He considers Doctor Atomic a key work of our present day, as we now live with the consequences of that time, with the potential apocalypse through possession of the bomb. He approaches the opera as a docudrama that edifies physics, alternating with insights into the characters’ inner lives. A journey through facts and dreams, hubris and responsibility, morality and power.