As the Metropolitan Opera’s final dress rehearsal for Doctor Atomic got underway, the hall filled with high school and college students from across New York. The special event gave over one thousand future Met-goers—many of them science majors— a chance to experience opera and to consider the connections between science and art from a fresh angle.

For some it was a first-time experience. For others the medium was more familiar territory, but John Adams’s modern take on the art would be new. For all, it was an unforgettable experience.

“I like the music,” commented Kathy from Baruch College. “It’s dramatic and reflects how the story goes. If it’s scary, the music backs that up.”

Others were drawn to the dramatic set designs and variety of costumes of Doctor Atomic. “I loved everything, especially the scenery, the costumes,” commented 17 year old Archie of the Lycée Français. “The costumes were really simple, but I think that plays a big role, having a simple background and scenery, black-and-white colors. That’s just great.”

Teachers and professors also had the opportunity to join in the final dress rehearsal, noting the links between the opera and their curricula back in the classroom.

“We’re doing a history of science project, and one of the topics happens to be Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project,” explained Professor Dan Greenberger of City College.

“This is a very good topic for the history of science, because of all the moral implications of it,” Greenberger continued. “I find it tremendous. It’s sufficiently close to what happened. I think John Adams has done a wonderful job creating this constant tension that runs through the opera. And let me say this, I think it’s fantastic that you went out of your way to invite students so they get to see this stuff.”

For the students, connecting the art of the opera with the history it captures was not hard. “It’s really interesting,” commented 17-year-old Jennifer of the High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering, City College. “Knowing some of the background of it before coming here it was really good.”

Rucia, also of the High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering, City College, agreed. “I like the history of it best and the content itself. We’ve taken a lot of history classes so we know about what happened. But I also love science and research, and I think Doctor Atomic is a great combination of history and science.”

For the youngest, however, perhaps the simplest assessment suits best:

“I love it, it’s really cool,” commented Polina, an 11-year-old member of the Met’s Children’s Chorus. “I like the music. I think it’s a good story for an opera and I could understand the history that was going on.”

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Doctor Atomic is on Monday October 13 at 8 pm.

This entry was posted by Caroline Cooper on Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 9:25 am and is filed under Doctor Atomic Blog, 2008-09 Season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.