“The more decisive a weapon is, the more surely it will be used, and no arguments will help. Could we have started the atomic age with clean hands?”

This work is great contemporary operatic art. Previously, I watched the PBS special on the creation of the San Francisco Opera premier. I really must say I liked the production concept and values from that production—such as I could glean from the special—better than those chosen for the Met production. In my view, the Met production was over produced in the sense that it became a lot about the scenery and the figures in the facade. I felt the San Francisco Opera production was more focused in the areas of the personal ethical/scientific conflict of the principals. That to me is the opera.

I loved what I saw of Peter Sellers imaginative, expressionistic staging for the San Francisco production. What the PBS special conveyed about that production was that we were in for a bold, convention-breaking experience. The opera seemed an attempt to expose the ethical dynamic embraced within the advance of scientific knowledge/possibility and the results in humanistic terms those efforts may engender. Humanity cannot always be said to “benefit” from applied science while pure science most always could be said to benefit the application of science.

That this opera exists is a great thing. There can be no doubt that the opera is art. John Adam’s music and Peter Sellers libretto combine to become a profound, if not transparent, statement about our world. I do not believe art can remain art and be transparent. Art invites our deeper examination and consideration—our pondering of issues toward which it directs our attention and special focus. This opera does that “in spades” for me.

Thank you PBS for presenting it.

A general comment about Great Performances: My dream is that Great Performances at the Met—indeed all the Met performances—will become available on Blu-ray disc. I will buy every one. High definition, superb sound and the big screen—mine is 49″ high and appropriately wide—make the experience of these performances “Great Performances”—both as the art they present and my ability to experience that art 3000 miles away from the live performance.

My Nirvana approaches via these PBS experiences.

I guess I am optimitic, hoping that all music can and will inform me positively or negatively, deeply or superficially. I liked this work, but I will admit there are places that seemed a bit long, especially in the second act. The rationale, I would assume, was to build the tension and anticipation for the final scene. While it might not rate in the top ten for me, I was glad to be exposed to it.