Gerald Finley

GRAMMY Award-winning Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley CBE OC is one of the most revered and influential artists of our time, with celebrated performances at the world’s major opera and concert venues, and recordings with major labels in a wide variety of repertoire. His extensive career is devoted to the complete spectrum of vocal art, encompassing opera, orchestral and song repertoire, collaborating with the greatest composers, orchestras and conductors. 

Initially focussing on the music of Mozart, his performances in Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro have been heard live and broadcast across the world. Finley’s repertoire now encompasses his signature roles, namely Bluebeard, Guillaume Tell, Iago, Macbeth, Scarpia, Amfortas, Holländer and Hans Sachs. His role creation for the most celebrated opera composers includes John Adams’ J. Robert Oppenheimer in Doctor Atomic, Kaija Saariaho’s Jaufré Rudel in  L’amour de loin, and Mark Anthony Turnage’s Harry Heegan in The Silver Tassie, and most recently, Helge, in the recent Olivier Award-winning Festen. In May, Finley marks 100 performances with the Metropolitan Opera in the New York Premiere of Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra, as Antony. A beloved and celebrated performer, Finley was recently named Kammersänger of the Bayerische Staatsoper following his long association with the company and he will receive the award for Best Foreign Artist at the Spanish Opera XXI Awards.

Finley’s concert work is a vital part of his flourishing career with recent appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. New works written for Finley include Peter Lieberson’s Songs of Love and Sorrow, Turnage’s When I Woke, Saariaho’s True Fire and Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Rubáiyát, in addition to works written by Huw Watkins and Julian Phillips. 

 As a celebrated song recitalist, he has worked regularly with pianist Julius Drake. Their many appearances throughout the world include the Schubertiade, a residency at the Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie-Zankel Hall and lauded appearances at the festivals of Salzburg, Edinburgh, and Tanglewood. He has also performed with Sir Antonio Pappano, Malcolm Martineau, Simon Lepper and Michael McMahon, this season he will make a recital debut with celebrated pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason in performances across Germany, the Czech Republic and the UK. 

He was born in Montreal, Canada, began singing as a chorister in Ottawa, and completed his musical studies in the UK at the Royal College of Music, King’s College, Cambridge, and the National Opera Studio. He is a Fellow and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music and gives masterclasses worldwide when his performances allow. In 2014 he climbed Kilimanjaro for the charity Help Musicians UK. In 2017 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire and had previously been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. Mr Finley also features on a Canadian stamp celebrating Canadians in opera.

The RDMR contact for this client is Grace.