Mezzo-soprano Mary Pat Finucane – a native of the Chicago area – holds a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Northwestern University.  Following her performance of Rosina in Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”, critic Joseph McLellan of the “Washington Post” hailed her as “an extraordinary mezzo . . . rich and resonant in the lower register, bright and graceful up in the territory that used to be reserved for coloratura sopranos.”

 

She has sung professionally with the choruses of the Chicago Symphony, The Music of the Baroque, Vocala Ensemble, Ravinia Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, Masterworks at St. Paul’s Westfield, NJ, the National Chorale, and the Choir of St. Mary the Virgin, NY.  As a professional member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus under Margaret Hillis, she served as section leader, and performed under direction of such esteemed conductors as George Solti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abaddo, James Levine and Daniel Barenboim. Highlights of her tenure there include Grammy-winning recordings of the Verdi “Requiem” and Beethoven “Missa Solemnis”, as well as Mahler’s “Second Symphony”, Brahms “Requiem”, “Les Noces” of Stravinsky and the Verdi “Four Sacred Pieces”.

 

Her solo concert credits include the alto solos in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Masterwork Chorus, Vivaldi Gloria and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Grant Park Symphony of Chicago, Nunes-Garcia’s Requiem with Choral Arts Society of NJ, Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil with Manhattan Choral Ensemble, Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony with Chicago Civic Orchestra, and the Kodaly Budavari Te Deum with the International Kodaly Festival of Calgary, as well as solos in J.S. Bach cantatas with Worcester Complete Bach.

 

Operatic solo credits include roles with Washington Opera, Minnesota Opera, Nevada Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera DC, National Opera of Raleigh, North Carolina Symphony, Barns of Wolf Trap, Hidden Valley Opera of Carmel, CA, NJ State Repertory Opera, and Amato Opera.  Favorite roles performed include the leading role in La Cenerentola, Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte, Rosina in Barber of Seville, Desdemona in Taste of the Times by Libby Larsen, and the pants roles of Feodor (Boris Gudonov), Cherubino (Marriage of Figaro), and Hänsel in Hänsel & Gretel.

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She has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera and Merola Foundation Regional Councils, and the Cecilia Schultz Foundation of Seattle.