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In the past few weeks I have seen two recently composed operas: Doctor Atomic and For You. I saw Doctor Atomic, with music by John Adams and libretto by Peter Sellars, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on October 13 and again in a broadcast at a local movie theatre in Massachusetts on November 8. I saw For You, with music by Michael Berkeley and libretto by Ian McEwan, at the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, on November 2, 2008. I enjoyed the experience of seeing both operas, but neither opera had music that I found of any interest in and of itself.

Doctor Atomic is about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the invention of the atomic bomb in New Mexico. It takes place during the period in World War II when Germany had surrendered and the war with Japan was still ongoing. It depicts events leading up to the first test of the atomic bomb. Peter Sellars has put together a libretto that quotes from poems, from the Bhagavad Gita, and from various relevant books and documents. There is some drama inherent in waiting for the detonation of the bomb, but except for that drama, the opera is more like a pageant or an oratorio.

For You has a libretto by the novelist Ian McEwan. The opera is about a womanizing composer/conductor and the people in his life, including not only his wife but also a Polish housekeeper who is obsessively in love with him without his knowledge. The characters in the opera are interesting individuals, and the story moves forward with a compellingly dramatic plot. The music served the libretto well. The physical production was sparse, with a few wooden panels and a few props. Instead of a full orchestra, there was a small chamber ensemble.

Both operas had very good casts. For You, much less expensive to put on, was actually the one that I preferred, since I relished the drama and the interesting characters. Doctor Atomic on the other hand was more of a meditation on a very serious issue, but with a libretto that was something of a hodgepodge.