Dr Atomic

I went to the opera last night at English National Opera’s acclaimed production of John Adams’s ‘Dr Atomic’. It has already been a huge success at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and has also received rave reviews here. It is that rare thing – a political opera. It deals with the relationship between science and politics but also between those who seek to dominate nature and the world through force and those who would live in harmony with it.

The opera is based on the story of the creation of the atom bomb and the main character is Oppenheimer, who is the ‘Dr Atomic’ in the title, a deliberate reference to Dr Faust, as the central message of the work is that Oppenheimer has signed a faustian pact with the US military in return for funds and no questions being asked. There are several scientists in the story, which is based on factual records, who call for the project to be halted and also for the bomb not to be dropped on Japan. At a time when some in the Green movement are speaking about making deals with nuclear energy, it is recommended to see this opera and to read the account of those scientists who took part, and what happened to them later. The music is sharp but powerful and there are some very dramatic scenes, especially the ticking clock motifs in the music leading up to the test explosion.

But the opera also reminds us that the threat of nuclear annihilation has not gone away, although it has seemed to lessen since the end of the Cold War. However, the build of forces between NATO and Russia and the question about what the future of nuclear armed Pakistan is, throw all these questions into sharp relief. We should not be lulled into a false sense of security.

This is why I am the Green Party’s representative on the Steering Group of Stop the War Coalition and in constant contact with those opposing the US missile bases in Central Europe. On Saturday lunchtime I will be chairing a session on NATO and Eastern Enlargement at the Green Party conference in Blackpool with the Chair of Stop the War, Andrew Murray.

Dr Atomic finishes its run this week but hopefully will return to London again. If it does, you should definitely try and see it. Below is a quote from the appeal which the scientist Leo Szilard (a refugee from Hungary under the Nazis) and 58 other scientists wrote to President Truman in 1945 asking for atomic weapons not to be used:

“Atomic power will provide the nations with new means of destruction. The atomic bombs at our disposal represent only the first step in this direction and there is almost no limit to the destructive power which will become available in the course of this development. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale.”

Sixty four year later I can only hope that the USA and the new Obama administration can listen to this plea for peace and put an end to the nuclear arms race.