DESCRIPTION:
The week before Doctor Atomic opens at the Metropolitan Opera, composer John Adams reflects on the relationship between words and music in a conversation with Ara Guzelimian, dean of the Juilliard School. Throughout his career, Adams has drawn on literary sources ranging from the Bible to Jack Kerouac; Doctor Atomic incorporates Baudelaire, the Bhagavad Gita and declassified documents from the Manhattan Project. His new memoir is Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life. The evening featured musical illustrations by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, baritone Jordan Shanahan and pianist Linda Hall.