Gerald Finley Bass-Baritone

Canadian baritone Gerald Finley began singing as a chorister in Ottawa, Canada. He completed his musical studies in the UK at the Royal College of Music, King’s College, Cambridge, and the National Opera Studio with the support of the Friends of Covent Garden, The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, and was the winner of Glyndebourne’s John Christie Award.

Gerald Finley began his opera work in the Mozart roles at Glyndebourne and it now includes a variety of leading roles in the world’s opera houses including London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, New York, Chicago and San Francisco. At the Royal Opera Covent Garden his roles include Count, Figaro, Creonte in Haydn’s L’anima del filosofo, the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen, Don Giovanni,Germont in La Traviata and Golaud in Pelleas et Melisande, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, which won him a nomination for 'Outstanding Achievement In Opera' at the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards. Last seaon, he returned for the title part in Eugene Onegin to great critical acclaim.

He was Owen Wingrave in the Channel 4 film of Britten’s opera and has appeared in lead roles in major premières: Harry Heegan (The Silver Tassie), Mr. Fox (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Jaufre Rudel (L’amour de loin) and J. Robert Oppenheimer (Doctor Atomic).

His discography includes work with Sir Simon Rattle (Così fan tutte - EMI), Sir John Eliot Gardiner (Die Zauberflöte, Die Schöpfung - DG), Christopher Hogwood (Rinaldo - Decca), Richard Hickox (Stanford Songs - Chandos), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Mozart's Requiem and Handel's Messiah - BMG Classics) and award winning song recital discs with CBC Records and Hyperion Records. His recording of Stanford's Songs of the Sea and Songs of the Fleet with Richard Hickox and the BBC NOW for Chandos received the Editor's Choice Award at the 2006 Classic FM Gramophone Awards.

For the Hyperion label, Mr Finley’s recent CDs of Charles Ives songs, “A Song – For Anything" and “Songs by Charles Ives”, were both critically acclaimed, and he has contributed to their distinguished Schubert song series. On CBC records, his disc Songs of Travel won the 1998 Canadian Juno Award for best Classical Album and he has also released the complete songs of Henri Duparc.

“Songs of Samuel Barber”, featured as ‘CD of the month’ in the January 08 issue of Gramophone magazine and it is one of two albums which won Mr Finley a nomination at the 2008 Canadian Juno Awards in the category 'Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance' category, along SCHUBERT AMONG FRIENDS (Marquis Classics). It also earned him a nomination as 'Artist of the Year' at the 2008 Classic FM Gramophone Awards. A programme of Heine settings by Schumann and songs by Grieg, also for Hyperion, will be released next month.

'In the title role [Onegin], Gerald Finley was, as ever, exemplary, his musicianship, artistry and technique beyond carping.' (Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph, 12/03/08)

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