Bass-Baritone Gerald Finley in the prime of his life with milestone performances on world’s best stages
Over the coming months, Gerald Finley marks career defining milestones, including:
His 100th performance with the Metropolitan Opera, where he stars as Antony in John Adams’s Antony and Cleopatra, opening tonight (Monday 12 May)
Recital tour with pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, marking their debut as a duet, beginning on 25 June
Gerald becomes the first Canadian solo baritone to perform twice at the First Night of the BBC Proms, opening this year on 18 July, with a performance of Vaughan Williams’s Sancta Civitas with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo
Opening The Royal Opera’s 25/26 season in a new production of Tosca directed by Oliver Mears running from 11 September – 7 October
Making long-awaited debuts at Teatro alla Scala on 5 November in Robert Carsen’s new production of Cosí fan tutte and at Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 22 February in a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande led by director Jean-Louis Grinda
Acclaimed bass-baritone Gerald Finley CBE OC embarks on milestone performances in 2025, marking him as one of the most prominent bass baritones of his generation. The following months will see a landmark 100 performances with the Metropolitan Opera, whilst his return to The Royal Opera to open the 25/26 season in a new production of Tosca will see Finley’s 175th performance with the company. His return follows his performance in the Olivier Award-winning production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s Festen, which saw critical acclaim. Finley will also make his house debut at Teatro alla Scala, in a new production of Cosí fan tutte, and his company debut with Opéra de Monte-Carlo in a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande.
In addition to Finley’s work on the operatic stage, he continues to share his passion for works with orchestra with some key performances in the coming months. Finley will open the BBC Proms, performing Vaughan Williams’s Sancta Civitas with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo, becoming the first Canadian solo baritone to perform at the First Night of the Proms twice. In December Finley makes a homecoming to Canada with performances of Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In the New Year, Finley will perform Brahms’ German Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) conducted by Manfred Honeck, as well as Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Philharmonie de Paris and Klaus Mäkelä.
Finley’s recital calendar also features a debut at BroadStage, Santa Monica alongside pianist BryanWagorn, a performance at The Meath Epilepsy Chairty Gala led by Brindley Sherratt and a European tour with acclaimed pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason.
The Metropolitan Opera: Antony and Cleopatra by John Adams
12, 15, 20, 24, 30 May, 3 & 7 June
“The lead couple swirl from lust to love to hellbent fury. Finley, a formidable and intelligent performer, relished the lyricism of his lone moment in Act 2: he that had once “quarter’d the world”, betrayed by a woman.” (The Observer)
Shakespeare’s immortal drama Antony and Cleopatra, is brought to life by Finley and Julia Bullock presenting the complex title characters, vividly reimagined by preeminent composer John Adams – who takes to the podium to conduct this score.
Performances of this Met Opera premiere will also welcome two historical moments: Finley’s 100th performance with the company on 30 May, whilst Adams becomes the first living composer since Strauss to have five operas performed at the Met. Directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, Antony and Cleopatra is transported from ancient Rome to the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s, allowing for the drama to leap from screen to stage.
BroadStage, Santa Monica: Recital with Bryan Wagorn
11 June
Giving a recital for BroadStage’s Celebrity Opera series, Finley presents a programme of favourite songs, folk tunes and arias, with a broad sweep of personal favourites demonstrating his love for all styles of recital repertory. Performing in five languages with repertoire spanning 150 years, Finley offers a personal journey singing works by Schubert, Rachmaninov, Ives, Barber, Ravel and Respighi, with arias from his signature roles of Guillaume Tell and Hans Sachs.
The Grange Festival: The Meath Epilepsy Charity Gala
15 June
Established in 2020, The Meath Epilepsy Charity Gala was established by bass Brindley Sherratt in aid of the charity that provides residential care for those with complex epilepsy. The gala will see a host of classical music’s finest singers, with performances from Finley, Louise Alder, David Junghoon Kim, Natalya Romaniw, Nicky Spence, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Alexandra Oomens, Huw Montague Rendall and Christine Rice, accompanied by Julius Drake and Matthew Fletcher. Funds raised from the gala will contribute the series of music and life enrichment programmes at the Meath, enriching the quality of life for residents.
European Tour: Recital with Isata Kanneh-Mason
25 June, Schloss Elmau
28 June, Smetana Litomyšl
12 July, Cheltenham Music Festival
15 July, Bayerische Staatsoper
A unique song recital that presents a programme that encompasses Finley’s career as one of the most sought-after recital singers, celebrating his love for repertoire old and new. Working in partnership with Isata Kanneh-Mason for the first time, the duo breathe life into selected songs by Grieg, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as four Schubert settings of Goethe’s poems: Meeres Stille, Prometheus, Wanderers Nachtleid II and Erlkönig. Across four performances, Finley and Kanneh-Mason give an intimate and vulnerable perspective on a wide range of songs.
BBC Proms: First Night of the Proms
18 July
Finley provides a storming conclusion to the opening night of the BBC Proms, featuring a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ lesser-known Sancta Civitas, a moving illustration of visions from the Book of Revelation. Performing alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus and members of London Youth Choirs under the baton of Sakari Oramo.
The Royal Opera: Tosca dir. Oliver Mears
11, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 29 September, 2, 5 & 7 October
“Scarpia certainly doesn’t lack bombasticity. Through Gerald Finley’s eerie vocal contouring, the instrument effuses a menacing, villainous characteristic.” (OperaWire)
Seven years on from his debut as Scarpia with The Royal Opera, Finley returns for Oliver Mears’ new production of Puccini’s thriller opening the company’s 25/26 season. Modern-day Rome provides the backdrop for this new production, which sees sopranos Anna Netrebko and Aleksandra Kurzak as Tosca, tenor Freddie De Tommaso as Cavaradossi, and bass-baritone Finley as Scarpia, with Jakub Hrůša conducting his first new production in post as Music Director of The Royal Opera.
Teatro alla Scala: Cosí fan tutte dir. Robert Carsen
5, 8, 12, 15, 18, 21, 23 & 26 November
The final opera of Teatro alla Scala’s season is Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte, in a new production directed by Robert Carsen and featuring Finley’s debut at La Scala The cast includes Elsa Dreisig as Fiordiligi, Nina van Essen as Dorabella, Sandrine Piau in the role of Despina and Luca Micheletti as Guglielmo, conducted by Alexander Soddy.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Handel’s Messiah
16, 17, 19, 20 & 21 December
Finley returns to his homeland for performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, in its annual celebration of Messiah. The trumpet will sound alongside the voices of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, soprano Lauren Snouffer, mezzo-soprano Susan Platts, tenor Anthony Leon and bass Finley under the baton of conductor Michael Francis.
London Symphony Orchestra: Brahms’ A German Requiem cond. Manfred Honeck
21 January
One of Brahms’s most affective and haunting works, A German Requiem, offers light and shade in addition to hope and solace, in times of loss. Finley joins soprano Chen Reiss, the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under the baton of Manfred Honeck.
Philharmonie de Paris: Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis cond. Klaus Mäkelä
25, 28 & 29 January
“A monumental work in which Beethoven deals with most of his favourite subjects: universality and beliefs, but also doubts and the suffering caused by these doubts” (Jérémie Rohrer)
Klaus Mäkelä conducts the Philharmonie de Paris in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis featuring Finley, who is joined by soprano Chen Reiss, mezzo-soprano Wiebke Lehmkul and tenor Julian Prégardien.
Opéra de Monte-Carlo: Pelléas et Mélisande
22, 24, 26 & 28 February
In a celebration of French music at Opéra de Monte-Carlo led by director Jean-Louis Grinda, conductor Kazuki Yamada and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Finley makes his company debut in a new production of Pelléas et Mélisande alongside Lea Desandre and Huw Montague Rendall in the title roles.
Wiener Staatsoper: Parsifal dir. Kirill Serebrennikov
2, 5 & 8 April
Finley takes on the role of Amfortas in Kirill Serebrennikov’s production of Parsifal at the Wiener Staatsoper, conducted by Axel Kober. The production looks at the adult Parsifal, remembering the lad he once was. Overtaken and overwhelmed by his memories, sometimes he gets lost in them – he discovers the repressed.
This production sees Finley perform alongside Franz-Josef Selig as Gurnemanz, Matheus França in the role of Titurel, Klaus Florian Vogt as the title role, Werner Van Mechelen as Klingsor and Jennifer Holloway as Kundry.
Teatro Real: Voces del Real
18 April
In a programme of scenes featuring the stories of masters, servants, scoundrels and revolutionaries, Finley presents arias from beloved operas conducted by Leo Hussain and featuring the Orchestra of the Teatro Real. The programme includes scenes from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, Rossini’s Guillame Tell, John Adams’ Doctor Atomic, Verdi’s Otello and Macbeth, and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.