Scrapbook
This section contains snippets of news about Gerry’s performances, recordings, award nominations (in more or less chronological order – most recent first) plus photos that don’t seem to fit anywhere else
Recital with Gerry and Angela Hewitt in auction, courtesy of the Canadian Friends of the Trasimeno Music Festival
For two weeks, from 12 May 2011, you can bid online in an auction (proceeds go to support the Trasimeno Festival). There are nine very select and unique items for which you may bid, including a recital in your home (if you are in southern England) with baritone Gerald Finley and Angela Hewitt!!! Due to their hectic schedules, they are rarely in the same place at the same time, but as both occasionally are in England where they reside, they are generously offering to give an evening of their time to perform briefly before supper, either in a home of their choosing (in which case someone else would cook) or else in yours if deemed appropriate (in which case you offer the meal!). If you don’t live in Southern England but can get yourself to the London area, we will provide the home, piano, and food!
Click below for auction details (bidding for Gerry starts at CAD 2500)…
Praise from Dmitri Hvorostovsky in a Q & A with Simon Thomas for Whatsonstage. In a section about playing Germont père…
ST: We are seeing more glamorous singers nowadays playing the part (yourself, Thomas Hampson, Gerald Finley etc). Does that indicate a change of attitude towards the character?
DH: Is Gerry Finley playing the part? I didn’t know that.
SH: Yes, he played it in this production three or four years ago.
DH: It would be a very good voice for the role. He’s a wonderful singer.
Gerry with Simon Keenlyside, New York, March 2010. Photo courtesy of www.juliusdrake.com
Short but sweet snippet from…
Opera: Review of the decade. A look back at ten years of opera.
Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, 14 December 2009
“Flying the flag for Britain were Bryn Terfel, Sarah Connolly, Alice Coote, Simon Keenlyside and Gerald Finley”
…and from Anna Picard of the Independent, 27 December, Opera in 2009
Back at the Coliseum, David Alden’s Otto Dix-meets-Ealing Comedy production of Peter Grimes saw a definitive ensemble of singing actors matched by a searing account of Britten’s score under Edward Gardner. Gerald Finley’s performance of “Batter my heart” in John Adams’s Doctor Atomic was a moment of greatness in an awkward work…
Photos by Sim Canetty-Clarke from the recording session for Gerry’s new Arias CD. Click photo of Gerry with conductor Edward Gardner to see the wonderful photo gallery
An article by Gerry from Gramophone magazine, October 2009: The many faces of Placido
Always one of opera’s most accomplished actors, Domingo has inspired legions of fellow performers. Here, some famous colleagues recall the interpretations that most affected them. Gerald Finley:
“One of the great fundamental moments in my life as a young singer was witnessing Placido’s electrifying and passionate Otello in Elijah Moshinsky’s production at Covent Garden in early 1987.
The film version had been out for some time with the same leads and it could easily have been a walk-through for Justino Diaz, Katia Ricciarelli and Placido. But as soon as the momentous overture began, with an incandescent Carlos Kleiber conducting, the essence of live theatre ignited and Placido’s first utterance was a fanfare for what was to prove a devastating performance. His eyes aflame and focused, he portrayed Otello’s meltdown in gradually intensifying flame-brilliant stages. Everything was internalised and yet his clarion voice was a beacon of his doom, without ever letting the voice be sacrificed to the cause. The final “Un bacio…” pierced me and has left me wounded to this day. If there was any chance I might offer the same in any of my own performing, this was the origin of my commitment.”
Photo of the cast of Le nozze di Figaro at the Salzburg Festival 2009. Courtesy of http://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/
Photo from the Salzburg Festival 2009, Daniel Harding, Gerry and Luca Pisaroni take time off from Le nozze di Figaro
A group of delightful photos of Gerry (and Julius) from the website of Sim Canetty-Clarke
During an interview with Thomas Hampson by Simon Thomas for Whatsonstage, 9 June 2009
The singer throws me off again (with infinite charm) when I suggest that the casting of Germont père with artists such as himself and Gerald Finley implies a more sympathetic approach to the role these days. “I’ve never seen him as an old curmudgeon,” he says, “If he’s at all sympathetic, it’s because people do identify with his dilemma. We all know people like that. I wouldn’t know how to play him without this societal mindset of a pre-Victorian, Provencal, straight-laced sense of reality.”
Nevertheless, casting singers who are younger, and dare one say handsome and charming, like Hampson and Finley, does bring a glamour to the role that contradicts more old-fashioned interpretations.
Gerry and JD in Schwarzenberg, June 2009 . Click photo for performance details. Photo courtesy of http://www.juliudrake.com/
Gerry in rehearsal for Beethoven’s 9th with Lynne Dawson, Madeleine Shaw and Robin Leggate , conducted by Stephen Cleobury. Click photo for performance details. Photo courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
Gerry as monobrachial Balstrode with John Daszak as Peter Grimes backstage at the London Coliseum, photocourtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
From Charlotte Higgins “On Culture” blog for the Guardian, 28 April 2009
Sam Mendes pulls out of Glyndebourne’s Don Giovanni
The director was due to direct the Mozart opera at Glyndebourne
Sam Mendes, I have just been told, has pulled out of making his opera-directing debut at Glyndebourne next year, where he was due to direct Don Giovanni. Sad news, as this would no doubt have been the opera event of the year.
Instead, Jonathan Kent – with his usual crack team of designer Paul Brown and Mark Henderson in charge of lighting – will take on the project.
In a statement, Mendes said:
“It is with great regret that I am pulling out of directing Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne next summer. The decision has nothing whatsoever to do with the production itself (I was extremely happy with the cast and the creative team), nor to do with the immense support that I have received from David Pickard and everyone at Glyndebourne. Instead, it has everything to do with my massive theatre commitments with my new company The Bridge Project, which has turned out to be much more time- and energy-consuming than I ever could have guessed, and has tied me almost permanently to New York. It goes without saying that I look forward to working at Glyndebourne in the future – to whom I have pledged – my first opera production.”
David Pickard, general director of Glyndebourne, said:
“It is obviously very sad news that Sam has withdrawn from directing Don Giovanni in 2010. We are extremely fortunate, however, that Jonathan Kent has agreed to direct this new production next summer … I have no doubt that he will bring his customary flair and imagination to Don Giovanni, and I know how much he is looking forward to working with such a distinguished cast and conductor. Jonathan did, of course, create a wonderful production of The Turn of the Screw at Glyndebourne in 2006, and is back with us this year directing The Fairy Queen.”
Gerry with Bernard Haitink during his debut at the Lucerne Festival, April 2009,courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
Gerry as a slightly demonic Doctor Atomic with Sasha Cooke as wife Kitty backstage at English National Opera, March 2009, courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
Gerry with Brindley Sherratt on the set of Doctor Atomic, English National Opera, March 2009,courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
Backstage photos from Die tote Stadt, Royal Opera House, February 2009. Courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
Gerry (Fritz) with Stephen Ebel (Victorin, back row) Ji-Min Park (Kleine Graf), Simona Mihai (Juliette) and Jurgita Adamonyte (Lucienne)
Gerry in Pierrot costume with Ingo Metzmacher
From an article on countertenor Daniel Taylor by John Goodman of North Shore News, 13 February 2009.
“Taylor started young singing with the Gentlemen and Boys Choir of St. Matthews Church in Ottawa. “Essentially my parents needed to give me something to do after school,” he says. “I tried the Boy Scouts but that didn’t seem to be what I was interested in. So I went over to the choir. My brothers were in it.”
So was Gerald Finley who is now known as one of the world’s great baritones. Coincidently both Finley and Taylor are competing for Junos in the same category. “He must be about, I’m guessing, six to 10 years older than me,” says Taylor. “I imagine he will win. I suppose he may well have been one of the reasons I went into music. He just sang so beautifully even as a teenager. I was a little kid then but I remember his singing very clearly.”
From the January – March 2009 Opera Preview on musicOMH
…This is followed a week later (27 January) by the premiere of Korngold’s sumptuous Die tote Stadt. Willy Decker’s production comes from Salzburg now with Gerald Finley and Nadja Michael in the leading roles. It’s a potentially magical night.
Finley pops up again at the Coliseum in John Adams’ Doctor Atomic (25 February), the story of J Robert Oppenheimer‘s development of the nuclear bomb. He’ll be back at the Coliseum later in the year as Balstrode in Peter Grimes, so London is being treated to a rash of appearances this year from this fine baritone.
From an interview with Eric Owens for the Philadelphia Inquirer (David Patrick Stearns), 18 January 2008
If the piece [Doctor Atomic] has long-term staying power, Owens won’t be surprised to have been in on opera history in the making. “After I’d walk offstage,” he says of the San Francisco performances, “I’d stand in the wings to hear Gerry Finley sing the sonnet ‘Batter My Heart, Three-Person’d God,’ ” which ends Act I. “I think it’s the best music John Adams has written. The dancers and chorus members would also stand in the wings. It was quite moving.”
Al Senter, Afterhours magazine
On a high note
A round-up of the best productions touring the UK this year
…The same 19th century grand operas do tend to feature heavily in the schedules, but James Inverne, editor of Gramophone, denies that the repertoire is stagnant. “There’s a lot of exploration going on, even in the major houses at the moment,” he says.
Nor does the cliché that an opera singer is all voice and no acting talent ring true these days. Inverne is very excited about the current crop of singers who’ve yet to achieve widespread fame. He singles out one artist who can be seen on a variety of stages during the first half of 2009. “Gerald Finley is a Canadian bass-baritone who is a fantastic actor as well as a wonderfully poised singer. He was recently nominated for three Gramophone awards, dead-heating with himself in one category.”
The international nature of opera and the nomadic life of the opera singer are reflected in Finley’s 2009 programme. At Covent Garden from January 27 to February 17, he will sing the role of Frank/Fritz in a rare staging of Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt. He then makes the short journey from Covent Garden to English National Opera (ENO) where, from February 25, he will be singing the role of Robert Oppenheimer in the first London production of Doctor Atomic by John Adams. Finley remains at the Coliseum to play Bulstrode in ENO’s new production of Britten’s Peter Grimes, which opens on May 9.
Midem Classical Awards – shortlist announced. From Gramophone, 7 January 2009
With the announcement of the winners of this year’s Midem Classical Awards – held as usual during the record industry’s annual trade fair in Cannes – just two weeks away, we can reveal the discs in contention. Nominations were submitted by 127 different record companies in 23 different countries. These were then auditioned by a jury comprising editors, executives and producers from an international group of magazines, radio stations and musical organisations. Gramophone is part of this jury which also includes Classic Radio (Finland), Crescendo (Belgium), Fono Forum (Germany), Gramofon (Hungary), IAMA (UK), IMZ (Austria), Klassik.com (Germany), MDR Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Germany), Musica (Italy), Musik & Theater (Switzerland), ORF (Ustria), Pizzicato (Luxemburg), Radio Classique (France) and Scherzo (Spain).
The MCA 2009 will be presented in the Théâtre Debussy in the Palais in Cannes on Tuesday, January 20 and will be hosted by the French pianist Lise de la Salle and Gramophone’s editor-in-chief, James Jolly. The record categories are listed below with the top three contending recordings on each.
Category
DVD: OPERA / BALLET
Busoni Doktor Faust
Hampson, Groissböck, Kunde, Macias, Trattnigg, Zysset, Chorus and Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House / Philippe Jordan, Grüber, Arroyo, Dessecker, Breisach (Arthaus Musik)
Adams Doctor Atomic
Finley, Rivera, Owens, Fink, Maddalena, Glenn, Morris, Rabiner, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera, Renes, Sellars, Lobel, Ramicova (Opus Arte)
Donizetti La fille du regiment
Dessay, Flórez, Palmer, Corbelli, Maxwell, French, Secombe, Price, Blanchard, The Royal Opera Chorus, The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Bruno Campanella, Pelly, Thomas, Lough (Virgin Classics)
Opera preview of 2009: Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, 1 Jan 2009
Doctor Atomic
After the international success of Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer, the American composer John Adams has collaborated with Peter Sellars on a third opera focused on the politics of the modern world.
Doctor Atomic explores the complex inner life of the pioneering nuclear scientist J Robert Oppenheimer during the build-up to the first atomic explosion at Los Alamos in 1945. A work of great musical beauty and moral subtlety, it will be staged by English National Opera in a production first seen at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, directed by Penny Woolcock. Gerald Finley repeats his incandescent performance as Oppenheimer: his magnificent singing of the setting of a Donne sonnet which brings the first act to its conclusion is something not to be missed. London Coliseum, WC2 (0871 472 0600), 25 Feb-20 March
Gerry with Vladimir Jurowski, Moscow, December 2008, following a concert at the Bolshoi. Photo courtesy of http://www.geraldfinley.com
Recording Britten songs for Hyperion, December 2008. From http://www.juliusdrake.com/
The New Yorker, 11 December 2008. Included in Alex Ross’ The Ten Best Classical-Music Recordings of 2008
- Schumann, “Dichterliebe” and other Heine Lieder; Gerald Finley, baritone, and Julius Drake, piano (Hyperion).
- John Adams, “Doctor Atomic”; Gerald Finley, baritone, with Lawrence Renes conducting the Netherlands Opera (Opus Arte DVD).
From YouTube a contributor writes: “A small tribute to Gerald Finley. I compiled a scene from Le Nozze Di Figaro in which Finley plays both the Count and Figaro.”
Gerry as Oppenheimer with Eric Owens (General Groves) backstage at the Met during Doctor Atomic. Photo courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
Gerry with John Adams, composer of Doctor Atomic [looks like a good party!] Photo courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
Julius Drake (back row, far left) collecting the 2008 Gramophone Award for his and Gerry’s CD “Songs by Samuel Barber“, winner in the Solo Vocal category
A poster outside the Royal Opera House, Autumn 2008. Jane (left) and Janet (right) are reflected in his glory!
…and from the ROH website…
More new photos…
From www.geraldfinley.com
From Julius Drake’s website – Gerry (and sauce bottle…) relaxing between recording takes
The Classic FM Gramophone Awards 2008 – Artist of the Year nominations
| VOTE FOR GERRYhttp://www.gramophone.co.uk/vote.asp |
From the Gramophone website, July 2008
Recent winners include some of the most exciting names in today’s classical music world: Marin Alsop, Michael Tilson Thomas, Angela Hewitt and, last year, Julia Fischer. But what also marks Gramophone Artists of the Year out from the rest is that they are voted for by the public – readers and listeners of Gramophone and its various media partners around the world (last year’s vote reached a global audience of around 13m) – and so have something about them that has caught the imagination.
With eyes and ears once again preparing to focus on the Gramophone Awards, taking place in Londonon September 25, don’t miss this year’s chance to help decide the Artist of the Year online….
…Gerald Finley has had a magnificent 12 months in opera and song, with captivating recordings of Ives and Barber songs. “It’s difficult to imagine a more ardent exponent than Gerald Finley. While the orchestral writing is spare, Finley’s diction is second to none, allied to exceptional beauty of tone.” David Gutman, Gramophone, April 2008
Shortlisted artists – as chosen by the Gramophone editorial team – are below.
Natalie Dessay, Soprano
Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor
Gerald Finley, Baritone
Iván Fischer, Conductor
Hilary Hahn, Violinist
Marc-André Hamelin, Pianist
Paul Lewis, Pianist
Anna Netrebko, Soprano
MurrayPerahia, Pianist
Rolando Villazón, Tenor
My Trasimeno Music Festival is now over for another year…
… For those of you who have not been present at a concert in the 15-century courtyard of the Castle of the Knights of Malta in Magione, it is hard to describe the magic of the setting on a beautiful summer’s night (we were extremely lucky with the weather as it is outdoors, and only once this year did we have to stop for a few minutes for some raindrops). The illuminated tower, the graceful arches in the balconies surrounding the stage and audience, the occasional bird or bat flying about….all add to the fantastic atmosphere. And the acoustic is amazing for an outdoor venue. The softest pianissimo is heard without any difficulty by all.
This year we presented a Baroque orchestral concert in the stunningly beautiful church of San Pietroin Perugia (in which I conducted a Bach cantata for the first time), and returned to the grandeur of the Church of San Domenico in Gubbio (with conductor Michal Dworzynski). My colleagues were all wonderful, not just as musicians, but as people. To me that makes a difference. The recital with baritone Gerald Finley was an evening that nobody who attended will ever forget…
Gerry with Angela Hewitt during the 2008 Trasimeno Festival, courtesy of http://www.geraldfinley.com
From the Telegraph, 14 June 2008
Pianist Angela Hewitt tells Jon Swaine about her week: Tuesday
I took the 8.55amplane to Heathrow. Once home I spent three hours rehearsing a vocal programme for Trasimeno with the wonderful baritone Gerald Finley. We both grew up in Ottawa, Canada, and have both lived in London for many years, but have always been too busy to work together. It was pure pleasure, and reminded me why I put myself through the hell of organising a festival. When we were done I changed suitcases and headed out again, this time to fly to Dublin.
Gerry with Simon Rattle at a concert with the Berlin Philharmonie, April 2008. Photo courtesy of http://www.geraldfinley.com
Seen in an article on Antonio Pappano in ‘About the House’, the magazine of the Royal Opera House, April 2008
In particular he cites the rewards of working with British directors Richard Jones (in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and in the Ravel/Puccini double bill, L’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi) and David McVicar (Rigoletto, Die Zauberflote, Le nozze di Figaro). ‘Lady Macbeth was extraordinarily memorable, and Figaro was so lucid, with a wonderful cast, and the particular intelligence of the relationship between the Count [Gerry] and Countess. It was a terrific endeavour, very inspired and tightly prepared.’
Seen in The Times,22 March and 5 April 2008…
Top Opera – EUGENE ONEGIN. A slightly less tepid revival of Stephen Pimlott’s drippy production – thanks to a scorching performance from Gerald Finley in the title role. JirÍ Belohlávek conducts.
… and the Telegraph, 28 March 2008
The peerless Gerald Finley shines in the title role of a musically superb revival of Tchaikovsky’s drama, conducted by Jirí Belohlávek.
From http://www.geraldfinley.com/, 7 February 2008
Laurence Olivier Award Nomination!
“Following Gerald Finley’s double Juno Award nomination earlier this week, we are thrilled to announce that he has now been nominated for the award for ‘Outstanding Achievement In Opera’ at the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards.
Gerald has been nominated for his performance as Golaud in PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The production has also been nominated in the ‘Best New Opera Production’ category. The winners of the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards will be announced at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 9, 2008.”
Angelika Kirchschlager (Melisande) and Gerry (Golaud), both nominated for “Outstanding Achievement in Opera” at the 2008 Olivier Awards
From http://www.geraldfinley.com/, 6 February 2008. Double Juno Awards Nomination!!
We are delighted to announce that Gerald has been nominated for two awards at the 2008 Canadian Juno Awards. In the ‘Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance’ category both ‘Songs by Samuel Barber’ (Hyperion) and ‘Schubert Among Friends’ (Marquis Classics) have been nominated. The Awards ceremony will take place in Calgary on Saturday April 5th and broadcast on Sunday April 6th.
Gerry and Julius in San Francisco during their spring tour 2007. Photo courtesy of www.geraldfinley.com
From an interview with Julius Drake, Opera News, January 2008, vol 72, no. 7
ON: Which singers that you’ve worked with have had an impact on you musically over the years?
JD: There are some close colleagues that I have worked with often over a number of years — Ian Bostridge, for instance. We’ve worked together since 1992, and that’s a long time, and you build up a type of trust with close colleagues like that. I will often be grateful to hear what Ian feels about the piano part. He feels as passionately about the piano part as he does about the vocal part. Because of the relationship of trust that we have built up, he can be very critical about how he thinks the piano part is sounding under my hands. I won’t be offended, and I won’t be hurt — I’ll try to learn from it and try to get at what he’s getting at. And I think that one of the great joys of chamber-music partnerships is that you can make a team. And I hope the same works the other way around. And there are other close partnerships that I value for the same reasons — people like Gerald Finley, another person I feel very close to and therefore very relaxed with.
Hugo Shirley’s Top twelve recordings of 2007 for Musicalcriticism.com
Gerald Finley sings Songs by Samuel Barber (Hyperion).
Not the perfect soundtrack to the Christmas family lunch, perhaps, but the redoubtable Gerald Finley’s new disc of songs by Samuel Barber is both thought-provoking and emotive. In particular, I admire the way in which the singer has considered the sounds he created to suit this repertoire. The eeriness of so many of these numbers needs not only a beautiful voice but an even vocal production, seamless legato and the ability to respond to the text.
Seen in Rupert Christensen’s “Review of the year” for the Telegraph, 15 December 2007
…At least these stories related to events and personalities of genuine artistic significance. Elsewhere, however, I was driven mad by the tabloids’ infatuation with the likes of Katherine Jenkins, Russell Watson and Paul “Pottarotti” Potts (the karaoke tenor who won Britain’s Got Talent), whom they insist on labelling “opera singers”. For once and for all, can we get it clear that crooning the odd aria into a microphone does not admit you to the profession?
Let’s keep that job description for real talents such as Natalie Dessay, whose Marie in the Royal Opera’s delightful La fille du régiment was pure genius. Or Renée Fleming, ravishing as Massenet’s courtesan Thais, or Nina Stemme, a rapturous Isolde at Glyndebourne, or Ann Sophie Duprels, a heartbreaking Jenu?fa and Butterfly. Or our two great baritones, Gerald Finley and Simon Keenlyside, or the Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón, or the German bass René Pape. The Pottarottis of this world simply aren’t in the same business…
[However...]
…WORST OF 2007
I could happily punch the director Stanislas Nordey for his hideous and pretentious interpretation of my favourite opera, Pelléas et Mélisande at the Royal Opera House.
“The Dr Atomic dress rehearsal was at Lyric this afternoon, dominated by the extraordinary charismatic performance of Oppenheimer by Gerald Finley. He was a new talent once – and so joined the Glyndebourne Chorus and served his time with Glyndebourne’s touring arm in the 80s. His is a performance not to be missed – wonderful!”
From the Guardian, 6 December 2007. Mendes to make opera debut at Glyndebourne
“It is a move that will take him from the hustle of Hollywood to the leafy lanes of East Sussex, from Tinseltown to the rarefied environs of Glyndebourne. Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty and Road to Perdition, is to try his hand at directing opera.
The former Donmar Warehouse artistic director will take on Mozart’s Don Giovanni in 2010, a coup for the opera festival, and the result of eight years of wooing.”
“The idea of Don Giovanni had come from Glyndebourne, rather than Mendes, but he was “intrigued and fascinated” by the opera and strongly attracted by the Da Ponte libretto, said Pickard. The festival’s music director, Vladimir Jurowski, is to conduct. Rising star Kate Royal will take the role of Donna Elvira; Canadian baritone Gerard Finley will sing Don Giovanni.”
From Gramophone, Dec 2007 – “The best events worldwide… the pick of December’s concerts from around the globe”
From the Salzburg Festspiele Daily magazine, 14 August 2007
“Premiere of Le nozze di Figaro: After their various entanglements, Figaro and Susanna, Count and Countess assembled harmoniously in the Blaue Gans where, leaving the fandango behind, Le nozze di Figaro singers Luca Pisaroni, Diana Damrau, Dorothea Röschmann and Gerald Finley celebrated the successful reprise in the Haus für Mozart.”
From MusicalCritisicm.com: Kyle Ketelsen talks to Dominic McHugh, 26 May 2007
“…Giovanni is a difficult role because you can do it in so many different ways. Simon Keenlyside and Gerald Finley have it down perfectly. You watch them treat a scene in a special way and think, ‘I would never have thought to do it like that but it’s perfect…”
Gerry with pianist and fellow Canadian Angela Hewitt at a reception at Buckingham Palace, 3 May 2005. Photo courtesy of http://www.angelahewitt.com
From Songs for Low Voices, Opera News, August 2003. Stephen Francis Vasta takes an up-close look at the virtues and vices of nine top lieder baritones
“…In eight selections on Hyperion’s 1827 Schubertiad, Canadian-born Gerald Finley impresses me as most closely resembling Fischer-Dieskau in terms of both his basic vocal endowment and its technical handling. His smooth transition into a heady coordination without sacrificing brilliance and ring ensures an exceptionally even note-to-note connection. As his voice moves up the scale in the “Jägers Liebeslied,” its timbre lightens without losing its unmistakably baritonal quality. The “Schiffers Scheidelied,” with its bracing dotted rhythms, affords him ample expressive opportunities: he portrays the storm with ominous intensity, then softens the color for the eighth strophe’s salute to friendship, maintaining a solid core of sound throughout. Three Metastasio settings in Italian draw on a reserve of hearty Italianate irony, though Finley’s voice, in “L’Incanto degli Occhi,” negotiates the short runs more easily than the turns. Finley is definitely an artist worth watching.”
CHOICE CUTS
Gerald Finley
“An 1827 Schubertiad” With Graham Johnson. Hyperion CDJ 33036