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.”
Her solo credits include operatic 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. She has toured extensively, including the roles of Cinderella in Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” with National Opera – and Hänsel in “Hänsel and Gretel” and the Mother in “Amahl and the Night Visitors” – both with Prince George Opera of Washington, DC.
She has sung professionally with the choruses of the Chicago Symphony, Music of the Baroque, Ravinia Festival, Carmel Bach Festival, National Chorale and Choir of St. Mary the Virgin, NY, and has been heard as soloist with Masterwork Chorus, Manhattan Choral Ensemble, Grant Park Symphony of Chicago, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Georgetown University Chapel, Sussex County Oratorio Society, and the International Kodaly Festival of Calgary. As a professional member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus under Margaret Hillis, she served as section leader, and performed under direction of such 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”.
She has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera and Merola Foundation Regional Councils, and the Cecilia Schultz Foundation of Seattle.