PBS to Air "Wonders Are Many," on the Making of John Adams's "Doctor Atomic"

Browse by:
Year
Browse by:
Publish date (field_publish_date)
Submitted by nonesuch on
Article Type
Publish date
Excerpt

Beginning tonight, the PBS series Independent Lens will broadcast Wonders Are Many, the 2007 documentary film that captures the making of John Adams's 2004-05 opera, Doctor Atomic. The film goes behind the scenes to examine both the creation of this monumental work, leading to its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera House, and the working relationship between the longtime collaborators Adams and Sellars.

Copy

Earlier this season, John Adams made his Metropolitan Opera debut with the New York premiere of his 2004-05 opera, Doctor Atomic. The opera, which examines the final hours before the detonation of the first atomic bomb, received its world premiere on October 1, 2005, at the San Francisco Opera House, with Donald Runnicles conducting, in a production directed by Peter Sellars, who had also assembled the libretto. Beginning tonight and throughout this week, on PBS stations across the country, the series Independent Lens will broadcast Wonders Are Many, the 2007 documentary film that captures the making of Doctor Atomic, culminating in its world premiere. 

Wonders Are Many goes behind the scenes to examine both the creation of this monumental work and the working relationship between the longtime collaborators Adams and Sellars. The film's director, Jon Else, who directed the 1980 Oscar-nominated documentary The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb, uses both archival footage and interviews in Wonders Are Many, combining the frenetic backstage action at the opera house with the real events from the Manhattan Project that inspired Doctor Atomic.

For more information on the documentary and broadcast information on a PBS station near you, visit pbs.org.

featuredimage
John Adams "Doctor Atomic" production shot
  • Tuesday, December 16, 2008
    PBS to Air "Wonders Are Many," on the Making of John Adams's "Doctor Atomic"
    Terrence McCarthy

    Earlier this season, John Adams made his Metropolitan Opera debut with the New York premiere of his 2004-05 opera, Doctor Atomic. The opera, which examines the final hours before the detonation of the first atomic bomb, received its world premiere on October 1, 2005, at the San Francisco Opera House, with Donald Runnicles conducting, in a production directed by Peter Sellars, who had also assembled the libretto. Beginning tonight and throughout this week, on PBS stations across the country, the series Independent Lens will broadcast Wonders Are Many, the 2007 documentary film that captures the making of Doctor Atomic, culminating in its world premiere. 

    Wonders Are Many goes behind the scenes to examine both the creation of this monumental work and the working relationship between the longtime collaborators Adams and Sellars. The film's director, Jon Else, who directed the 1980 Oscar-nominated documentary The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb, uses both archival footage and interviews in Wonders Are Many, combining the frenetic backstage action at the opera house with the real events from the Manhattan Project that inspired Doctor Atomic.

    For more information on the documentary and broadcast information on a PBS station near you, visit pbs.org.

    Journal Articles:Television

Enjoy This Post?

Get weekly updates right in your inbox.
terms

X By submitting my information, I agree to receive personalized updates and marketing messages about Nonesuch based on my information, interests, activities, website visits and device data and in accordance with the Privacy Policy. I understand that I can opt-out at any time by emailing privacypolicy@wmg.com.

Thank you!
x

Welcome to Nonesuch's mailing list!

Customize your notifications for tour dates near your hometown, birthday wishes, or special discounts in our online store!
terms

By submitting my information, I agree to receive personalized updates and marketing messages about Nonesuch based on my information, interests, activities, website visits and device data and in accordance with the Privacy Policy. I understand that I can opt-out at any time by emailing privacypolicy@wmg.com.

Related Posts

  • Tuesday, November 19, 2024
    Tuesday, November 19, 2024

    "Here you have the guy who is speaking to the universality of the human experience in every molecule," Ken Burns tells Walter Isaacson on PBS's Amanpour & Co. about the subject of his latest film, Leonardo da Vinci. Sarah Burns, his co-director on the film with David McMahon, adds: "I think it's entirely central to who Leonardo was, that he had these interests across such a wide spectrum, and he didn't see those things as being separate. To him, all of these things were related and part of his larger effort to just understand the universe and everything he could about the human experience, the human body, and how all of these things are connected." You can watch their conversation here. You can watch LEONARDO da VINCI on PBS and hear Caroline Shaw's original score now.

    Journal Topics: TelevisionVideo
  • Thursday, November 14, 2024
    Thursday, November 14, 2024

    "The most relentlessly curious person I've ever come across, and that kind of wonder, that kind of joy, that kind of excitement about learning, we can use a lot of now," Ken Burns says of Leonardo da Vinci, the subject of his latest film, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Burns was on The Today Show as well, talking with host Hoda Kotb about the film. You can watch both conversations here and listen to Burns and his fellow directors Sarah Burns and David McMahon on Design Matters with Debbie Millman.

    Journal Topics: Artist NewsTelevisionVideo