FinneganDownie Dear

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Conductor
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Contact

For availability and general enquiries:

Henry Lindsay

Henry Lindsay

Associate Director

For contracts, logistics and press:

Jemima Pickersgill

Jemima Pickersgill

Assistant Artist Manager

For availability and enquiries in Germany, Switzerland and Austria:

Alexander Hollensteiner

Alexander Hollensteiner

Managing Director/Geschäftsführer (Berlin)

Representation

Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt

About Finnegan

Music Director: Shadwell

The 24/25 season sees Finnegan make debuts with the Staatskapelle Dresden, Warsaw Philharmonic, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra; he returns to the Staatskapelle Berlin, Athens State Orchestra and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. On the opera podium, he returns to the Staatsoper Berlin for Le nozze di Figaro, the Staatsoper Hamburg for Falstaff and leads the world premiere of Miroslav Srnka's Voice Killer in his debut at Theater an der Wien.

Recent symphonic highlights include engagements with Camerata Salzburg, Kammerakademie Potsdam, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Opera highlights include The Makropulos Case at Staatsoper Berlin, Eugene Onegin at Staatsoper Hamburg, Macbeth at the State Opera of South Australia, Die tote Stadt at Polish National Opera, Hänsel und Gretel at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Korea National Opera, Le nozze di Figaro at Royal Swedish Opera and Gerald Barry's Alice's Adventures Underground at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Future plans include his return to Covent Garden and debuts at Victorian Opera and Garsington Opera.

Finnegan is based in Berlin

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Representation

Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt

Season Highlights

Sep 2024
Oslo Opera House, Oslo
Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2 Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 Norwegian Radio Orchestra Midori Gotō (violin)
Nov 2024
Dresden Semperoper, Dresden
Webern: Variations for Orchestra Op. 30 Kurz: Trumpet Concerto Schubert: Symphony No. 5 Staatskapelle Dresden Sven Barnkoth (trumpet)
Jan 2025
Berlin State Opera, Berlin
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro Berlin State Opera

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Press

  • Macbeth

    State Opera of South Australia
    Sep 2023

    • Finnegan Downie Dear conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra with clarity. Of course, as an audience member one is always aware of the sound that emerges from the orchestra pit, but it shouldn’t always be the primary focus. It needs to complement the action, rather than being a driving or motivating force itself. That is how he conducted. He understands the intent of the poetry of the libretto, and how Verdi’s score draws out the meaning. When it was appropriate that the music take centre stage, Finnegan Downie Dear unleashed the forces of the ASO with vigour without losing musicality.

    • From the moment the conductor, Finnegan Downie Dear, lifts his baton the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra adds another actor to the piece. The level and integrity of the score drive the opera in different directions with such ease; the conversations it creates with the singers are magical.

    • Verdi’s brilliant score is played with panache by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under guest conductor Finnegan Downie Dear, who also conducted the ASO’s last Symphony Series concert, and regular concertmaster Kate Suthers. The woodwind theme is especially beautiful. Downie Dear’s pacing is precise and they play with remarkable clarity...

    • The opening is enchanting: wood instruments and shrieking flutes talking to each other, as if they were voices running through the woods, setting the scene for the on-stage dark mischief, all conducted by Finnigan Downie Dear who did a thoroughly excellent job throughout the performance. Verdi’s score comes up vividly in the performance, heightening the drama as is fitting to the tragic opera.