Broadcast Spotlight:

Gerald Finley (Marcello, La Boheme)

Opera News, February 2010, vol 74, no. 8



Most recent book I really loved: The Call of the Wild, by Jack London.

Hometown newspaper: The Etchingham Village News.

Guilty-pleasure movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

All-time favorite singer: Two, please – John Charles Thomas, Edita Gruberova.

On my fantasy night off, I would: Ice skate under the Northern Lights.

I can’t go onstage without: Shaking my head at the wonder of it all.

My worst moment in the theater: Watching a hanging rail collapse and crash into the set in the intermission, missing the stage-band double bass and player by just inches.

My biggest onstage rush: Getting a difficult passage of music right after getting it wrong previously.

My least favorite opera: Yet to see it.

A singer / director / conductor / composer I would like to work with: Joni Mitchell / Sam Mendes / Gustavo Dudamel / Einojuhani Rautavaara.

The thing I like best about the role of Marcello is: Eating lobster onstage.

My first paycheck was for: As gardener for Canadian conductor Mario Bernardi and wife Mona Kelly.

Pet peeve: Non-synchronized green lights, blocked drains, coffee-cup lids that squash the foam of a cappuccino … etc.

Most misinterpreted aspect of my career: That I’m British. (I’m Canadianl)

Most underrated piece of music: The Silver Tassie, by Mark-Anthony Turnage.

My weakness: Chocolate in all its forms.

My motto: “You can do it better.”

One thing nobody knows about me: I’ve trained to be a pilot.