Dr. Atomic

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Opera is one of the oldest and most respected forms of entertainment. However, I have never seen an opera show before attending the Metropolitan Opera with my class a few weeks ago. Prior to this year, the thought of going to see an opera has never crossed my mind. I do not think my parents have been to opera performances, so I did not really know much about them. All I had heard about operas was the typical stereotype of the fat woman who cracks a glass with her shrill voice. Even though I was never that interested in opera, I was kind of curious to see what it is really like.

            Originally, my class was supposed to watch, Madam Butterfly, one of the classic opera performances. However, we were unable to obtain student tickets to this show, so we went to see Dr. Atomic, a modern day opera based on the creation of the first atomic bomb. At eight at night, we entered the Met. I was amazed at the size and beauty of the theatre. I had expected our seats to be more towards the side, or farther away from the stage. I was impressed that I was able to see all the singers so well, even without the use of the binoculars I purchased frantically the night before.

            Dr. Atomic opened with the singers standing behind photographs of scientists involved in the construction of the atomic bomb. Only the singers’ legs were visible from behind the pictures. This was an interesting way to open up the show. It was kind of jarring to hear the libretto sung in English because I usually imagine opera to be sung in Italian or another more romantic sounding language.

The singers were supposed to be the scientists who were involved in the Manhattan Project, the joint effort of the smartest scientists to produce an atomic bomb during World War II. They were working in secrecy in Los Alamos, New Mexico for years on this dangerous, uncertain project. Oppenheimer was the scientist in charge. In the opera, the scenes alternated from ones where the scientists were busily working on the bomb, to love scenes between Kitty and Robert Oppenheimer. In one scene, Robert Oppenheimer sang about his wife’s hair. This seemed to take about 30 minutes, and I did not really see the significance of this.  

The bomb that was constructed for the opera was extremely well done. It seemed quite menacing, and it looked believable. However, after the explosion of the bomb, I did not like the yellow sheet that ascended above the stage. I feel the directors could have made a better choice by making a thick cloud of smoke surround the stage. The music in the show fit the scenes very well. In the scene where the scientists were nervous about the bad weather interfering with the testing of the bomb, the music became increasingly ominous.  

Finally, if not for Dr. Atomic, I would probably have not gone to an opera on my own. I found it interesting, but it was a little slow moving for my taste. I enjoyed the experience of going to the opera all dressed up, seeing the crowd, and the cultural nightlife, more than I actually enjoyed the performance.