Before the Critics, the Physicists Would Like a Word

The curtain has not yet risen on "Doctor Atomic," but the work has already started arguments at the American Physical Society, founded in 1899 "to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics."

And here things had started so well. Before assuming the presidency of the society, Marvin L. Cohen lobbied for the group to endorse the work, which was composed by John Adams and features a libretto by Peter Sellars. "When operas are good, they last an incredibly long time," Mr. Cohen said recently from his office at the University of California, Berkeley. "In 200 years, 'Doctor Atomic' may be the historical memory of the Manhattan Project."

Mr. Cohen's proposal failed to fly, but the society's executive board approved this resolution: "The American Physical Society recognizes the importance of the Manhattan Project in our history and endorses the creative role of the arts in helping the public to understand it."

So imagine Mr. Cohen's dismay when, at a preview of "Doctor Atomic" last October, he heard the beginning of the opening chorus:

Matter can be neither created nor destroyed
but only altered in form.
Energy can be neither created nor destroyed
but only altered in form.

As Mr. Cohen tells the story, his was the first hand that shot up when Mr. Adams asked for comments. "The opening is scientifically incorrect," Mr. Cohen said. As Einstein stated, matter can be converted into energy; this is the insight that produced the bomb. In its original form, the libretto failed to make this point. Contrary to lay opinion, Mr. Cohen is not splitting hairs.

"Adams grabbed his head and said, 'My opening is wrong.' " Mr. Cohen said. He suggested that Mr. Adams add an extra line to clarify.

"Believe me," Mr. Cohen said, "most scientists won't even consider letting Adams and Sellars off the hook if they are claiming to be 'true to historical documents.' If they are writing a fairy tale - no problem."

What about poetic license? "Opening the opera with a scientific statement that is misleading is not a good path," Mr. Cohen insisted. Nor is he moved by the argument that in 200 years from now, science may have moved on yet further. "The statement made in the first four lines of 'Doctor Atomic' is falsifiable," he said. "It's wrong now. It won't be right then."

Even so, Mr. Cohen said he had no desire to withdraw the society's resolution. "Movies, plays and books like 'Copenhagen,' 'Proof,' 'Galileo's Daughter,' 'A Beautiful Mind,' etc. help make people think of scientists and mathematicians as real people, which is good over all," he said. "I wish we could have more interactions with the arts, and I wish that artists wanted that, too."

Now Mr. Adams has tweaked the lines from the opening chorus. This just in: "I'm awaiting approval from the local physicists."