Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 1 October 2005 (Conductor: Donald Runnicles) |
|---|---|---|
| J. Robert Oppenheimer | baritone | Gerald Finley |
| Kitty Oppenheimer | mezzo-soprano or soprano | Kristine Jepson |
| Gen Leslie Groves | bass | Eric Owens |
| Edward Teller | dramatic baritone | Richard Paul Fink |
| Robert R. Wilson | tenor | Thomas Glenn |
| Jack Hubbard | baritone | James Maddalena |
| Captain James Nolan | tenor | Jay Hunter Morris |
| Pasqualita | mezzo-soprano or contralto | Beth Clayton |
Adams had written the role of Kitty Oppenheimer for the mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. However, she was unable to commit to the project due to her health (she died soon after the work premiered). The work was sung in the world premiere by mezzo Kristine Jepson. For the second major production, at De Nederlandse Opera, Adams reworked the role for a soprano, Jessica Rivera. For the Metropolitan Opera Premiere, the role was again sung by a mezzo, Sasha Cooke.
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Famous quotes containing the word roles:
“It was always the work that was the gyroscope in my life. I don’t know who could have lived with me. As an architect you’re absolutely devoured. A woman’s cast in a lot of roles and a man isn’t. I couldn’t be an architect and be a wife and mother.”
—Eleanore Kendall Pettersen (b. 1916)
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)
“Modern women are squeezed between the devil and the deep blue sea, and there are no lifeboats out there in the form of public policies designed to help these women combine their roles as mothers and as workers.”
—Sylvia Ann Hewitt (20th century)