[Eurydice - Boston Lyric Opera]

Maggie Finnegan, Alexis Peart, and Neal Ferreira made for a gut-busting trio in the roles of stones in Hell.
— Aaron Keebaugh, The Arts Fuse

[Opera America Award]

Boston Lyric Opera and Opera Philadelphia’s film SVADBA has won the Opera America’s award for Digital Excellence in Opera, Artistic Creation! This was one of my favorite projects to work on, and I am so thrilled it’s getting the attention it deserves.

Svadba
Opera by Ana Sokolović

A Boston Lyric Opera production, co-produced with Opera Philadelphia.

Produced by Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Bradley Vernatter, Jessica Johnson Brock, David B. Devan, Anderson Nunnelley, Hannah Shepard.

Conducted by Daniela Candillari.

Thank you to OPERA America for this exciting recognition, thank you to everyone involved with the creation of Svadba, and congratulations to all the other 2023 Artistic Creation nominees!

To celebrate, Svadba will be streaming for free on Boston Lyric Opera’s YouTube Channel through February 2024.

[Webern with BASS]

It was awesome returning to Brooklyn Art Song Society to sing Webern’s Opus 25 as a part of a concert of music from the Second Viennese School.

Finnegan, accompanied by pianist Michael Brofman, set the standard for the singing, with excellent intonation and articulation, and a palpable sense of expression and meaning.
— New York Classical Review, George Grella
Finnegan’s light timbre and trilling vibrato was the right sound for the Webern songs.
— New York Classical Review, George Grella
Soprano Maggie Finnegan revealed her vocal prowess during the opening phrase of No.1 “Wie bin ich froh!” as she precisely blossomed on ‘froh’ and ‘grün’ through her upper register and sent chills down the spine. Her voice has a pleasant exactness that, instead of pushing listeners, invites them in to enjoy every detail. Finnegan smiled through her eyes in “Wie bin ich froh.” She made Hildegard Jone’s text feel special, especially as she sang “noch einmal bin ich ganz ins Werden hingestellt und bin auf Erden,” “once again I have found myself entirely surrounded by becoming, and am on the earth.”

No.2 “Des Herzens Purpurvogel fliegt durch Nacht” was rich and grounded in Finnegan’s timbre. Her voice mulled over Jone’s text “Doch rastet endlich er am Ast des Todes, müd’ und flügelschwer, dann müssen sie zum letzten Blick verbeben,” “Death, weary and with heavy wings, then they must take their last look around before they dyingly tremble.” One could feel Finnegan’s intent to convey Jone’s message. It was a profound interpretation.

No.3 “Sterne, Ihr silbernen Bienen der Nacht” was full of glitter and sparkle in Finnegan’s voice. She painted a lucid remembering of night’s heavenly bliss through her voice’s warmth and sustainability. There was no separating of any part of the text as Finnegan drew a clear connectivity between the notes. Her voice was like a glossy part of a body of water at night, awaiting to be stirred but never becoming waves.
— Jennifer Pyron, Opera Wire

[Guest Artist @ Vanderbilt University]

I am so excited to be spending a few days at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in Nashville to give a solo recital with Jennifer McGuire and teach a masterclass. Huge thanks to Amy Jarman and the whole team at Vanderbilt who invited me!

Incident, Hannah Kendall + Fleur Adock

Tesla’s Pigeon, Melissa Dunphy + Various Poets

Hvolf, Anna Thorvaldsdottir + Sigurbjörg Þrastardóttir

Luonnon Kasvot, Kaija Saariaho + Pentti Saarikoski

Setting Sail, Juliana Hall + Emily Dickinson * world premiere *

Our recital was a HUGE success! Visiting Vanderbilt was pure joy!

Jennifer McGuire, Dashon Burton, Patrick Dailey + Jeffrey Williams.

Masterclass

[VALIS]

VALIS at the MIT Media Lab has been a total blast! Tod Machover’s music is some of the most compelling and soulful I’ve ever had the privilege of singing and hearing, and the whole team is a DREAM to work with!

The VALIS team

[On Site Opera Magic Flute]

I had a great time making my On Site Opera debut last week singing excerpts from The Magic Flute. I got to sing some First Lady and of course, Queen!

Thanks to my friend Sarah for getting this video and pics :)