Last night I went to the closing night of “Doctor Atomic,” the new John Adams opera at the Lyric. I think I’m still digesting it. I liked it, but not as much as “Nixon in China.” It was a lot more cerebral than I’d been expecting. Rather than being about the men and women who helped to create the atomic bomb it was really more about the burden of mankind willing the atomic bomb into existence. Yeah: heavy.

The other thing that struck me was how, well, unconcerned Adams was with writing melodically, at least compared to “Nixon in China,” which is filled with tunes or snatches of tunes which are actually hummable, even catchy in their own way. “Doctor Atomic” comes off as much more percussive, textural, and fragmented. It has the effect of distancing you. Again, not an accidental choice I’m sure, but it gave me a chilly feeling.

The production itself, by Peter Sellars, was tightly organized, complex, elaborate. Yet somehow it didn’t have the same wonder and vibrancy that the COT “Nixon in China” staging had. Hmm.

I have the feeling that “Doctor Atomic” is really the kind of show that one ponders about for a long time afterwards rather than having an immediate, visceral reaction. Except when it comes to the ending of the opera: the detonation of the bomb. It was really frightening. The audience went completely, utterly silent for thirty seconds after the lights went down. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that in a theater before. That silence.