Early life

Finley was born in Montreal. He studied music at several places, including St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, King's College in Cambridge, and the Royal College of Music in London. He was accepted into the National Opera Studio. His great-uncle, Sir William McKie, who used to play the organ at Westminster Abbey, lived in Ottawa during his later years and encouraged Finley's early musical activities.

Career

In 1985, Finley performed in the Royal College of Music production of Le Testament de la tante Caroline, playing the role of Maître Corbeau, a notary. The following year, he appeared in La vera costanza, where his deep, rich voice and skill in traditional comedic roles helped him create a vivid character as Villotto, a wealthy man.

Finley is well-known for his performances in operas by Mozart, including roles such as Guglielmo, Papageno, Figaro, Count Almaviva, and Don Giovanni. He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 1991 and returned multiple times, including as Count Almaviva in 2007 and 2009, Don Giovanni in 2011, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte in 2013. In 2017, he received praise for his performance as Lear in Aribert Reimann’s opera.

Finley first performed in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera on January 24, 1998, as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. Later, he performed the title role of Don Giovanni, Marcello in La bohème, and the title role of Guillaume Tell at the same opera house.

In addition to Mozart, Finley has performed in modern operas. He created the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in the world premiere of John Adams’ Doctor Atomic at the San Francisco Opera in 2005. The opera later premiered at the Metropolitan Opera with Finley in the Oppenheimer role in 2008 and was broadcast live. He also created roles in The Silver Tassie by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Fantastic Mr. Fox by Tobias Picker.

Finley expanded his repertoire by performing the title role of Eugene Onegin at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2008. This was his second Tchaikovsky role at the Royal Opera; his first was Prince Yeletsky in Pique Dame. In 2011, he performed Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Glyndebourne Opera, earning praise from critics.

Finley made his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro in 2012. He later performed leading roles in new productions, including the Forester in Janáček’s Příhody lišky Bystroušky in 2014 and Amfortas in Wagner’s Parsifal in 2017.

Finley has been praised for his performances in both operas and concerts. After a recital at Carnegie Hall in 2007, a New York Times critic called his voice “easy luxury” and noted his focus on the words in his music. His performance of Schumann’s Dichterliebe at the Wigmore Hall in 2006 also received high praise.

Finley has recorded many songs and operas, including solo albums on the Hyperion label. These recordings include works by Bach, Barber, Ives, Ravel, Schubert, Brahms, and Schumann.

In June 2014, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. In October 2014, he opened the Canadian Opera Company’s 2014–2015 season as Falstaff, his first performance in this role and his return to the company after 20 years.

On May 14, 2015, he performed the world premiere of True Fire by Kaija Saariaho, a composer who dedicated the work to him. In 2017, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to opera.

Finley played the role of Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2017. On August 20, 2019, he performed the baritone solo in William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast at the BBC Proms. In September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he performed the title role in Bluebeard’s Castle with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the performance was shared online.

Selected discography

Finley has recorded the following works:

• Franz Schubert: Winterreise, with Julius Drake (Hyperion, 2014)
• Songs composed by Samuel Barber, with Julius Drake (Hyperion, 2007)
• Maurice Ravel: Songs, with Julius Drake (Hyperion, 2009)
• Wigmore (Hall) Live: Songs by Tchaikovsky, Musorgsky, and Rorem, with Julius Drake (Wigmore Live, 2008)
• Ives: Songs (vol. 11), Romanzo di Central Park with Gerald Finley, with Julius Drake (Hyperion, 2008)
• Vaughan Williams: The Pilgrim's Progress, conducted by Richard Hickox (Chandos, 1998)