by Nathan Southern
synopsis
Composer John Adams authored this distinctly modern opera, commissioned and mounted by The San Francisco Opera in conjunction with De Nederlandse Opera and The Lyric Opera of Chicago, and helmed for the stage by the controversial Peter Sellars. Written and performed entirely in English, it weaves the tale of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the detonation of the first atomic bomb outside of Los Alamos, New Mexico. Gerald Finley stars as Oppenheimer; Jessica Rivera as his wife, Kitty; and Eric Owens as General Leslie Groves. Those with strong stomachs should be forewarned that the program incorporates graphic images of wartime carnage.
