Recording of the Year, Opera Recording of the Year

John Adams
Doctor Atomic
Gerald Finley bar, BBC Symphony Orchestra/John Adams
Nonesuch 7559793107

Gerald Finley’s superb Oppenheimer would convince anyone to stop worrying and learn to love the Bomb

It was wonderful to sing Batter My Heart again. I hear it now in young singers’ auditions and I can sense the pride – for me and for John – of singing an aria in English with an amazingly passionate subject.” Gerald Finley

This wonderful recording conducted by the composer must be considered definitive in all ways. Canadian baritone Gerald Finley has made the title role his own since the San Francisco premiere in 2005 and he has a wonderful supporting cast here.

The battles of conscience; machinations over whether the Japanese...