Revealing the physicist’s soul

Henrietta Bredin talks to the baritone Gerald Finley about how he portrays ‘the destroyer of worlds’

Finley may be immersed in his role but he is impressively capable of taking a step back and assessing the public’s response to the opera. ‘There have been criticisms that it’s too long and that the second half becomes over meditative, dwelling on people’s inner turmoils. I agree that in the first half the audience can be swept along by the documentary swiftness of the pacing then cast loose into a sort of slow-motion freefall in the second half, but I think that allows them to absorb what’s happened, to recognise that this is still a major part of all of our lives.

‘Any public performance is a risk. It’s a big commitment for anyone to make the effort to attend live theatre at all, to give up other, more easily accessible ways to entertain themselves. And the reactions have ranged from one extreme to the other. When my mother went to one of the live cinema screenings she said that a man came up to her afterwards and said that he was so moved and overwhelmed he could hardly speak, and that she then heard someone else saying, “Well, that was the worst three hours I’ve ever spent.” I accept both responses although, obviously, I hope people will be provoked and engaged by what we’re doing. The main thing is that they have made a decision to come and share that time with us. What I want people to know is how exciting this opera is. It’s controversial, it has an amazing story, and there is music that makes you want to get up and dance, music that shakes your bones and music that will flow through your dreams.’

Doctor Atomic opens at English National Opera on 25 February; tickets: 0871 911 0200.Gerald Finley has been shortlisted for a BBC Music Magazine Award for Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death (Wigmore Hall Live); visit www.bbcmusicmagazine.com/awards.