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Maggie Finnegan
Hailed by Opera News for her “clear, poised and defiant soprano” and The Washington Post for her “silvery, pitch-perfect voice,” Maggie Finnegan (she/her) is a versatile soprano, singing repertoire spanning from medieval to contemporary. 2021-22 season highlights include Maggie’s Boston Lyric Opera principal artist debut as Danica in Ana Sokolović’s Svadba, her Experiments in Opera debut as Anya in the world premiere film of Everything For Dawn, the world premiere of Marc Hoffeditz’s opera U-Hauling, Linda Lampton in Tod Machover’s VALIS with the MIT Media Lab, the continued development of Vital Opera’s Halcyon and Sophia in the West Coast premiere of Lembit Beecher’s opera Sophia’s Forest with Opera Parallèle. Recent performances include Maggie’s European Operatic debut in L’Enfant et les Sortileges with the Belgian National Orchestra, her Netherlands debut in Louis Andriessien’s Odysseus’ Women / Anais Nin, the White Snake Projects’ world premiere of Dan Visconti’s PermaDeath: A Video Game Opera, and a duo recital with Mezzo-Soprano Stephanie Blythe with Sparks and Wiry Cries.
Awards include the S&R Foundation’s 2017 Washington Award, First Place and Audience Favorite in the Washington International Competition for Voice and second place in The American Prize for Women in Opera. Specializing in new music, she has sung premieres with White Snake Projects, Experiments in Opera, Opera Parallèle, Catalyst New Music, the {Re}Happening Festival, the Juventas New Music Ensemble, The American Chamber Opera Company, Black Sheep Contemporary Ensemble, Vital Opera, Sparks & Wiry Cries SongSLAM and the Center for Contemporary Opera. Career highlights include The Sound of Music with Paper Mill Playhouse, The Metropolitan Opera Guild’s School Touring Program, Lee Mingwei’s performance art piece Sonic Blossom, and performing as a soloist in the revival of the play Extraordinary Measures, in which she worked with tony award winning playwright/activist Eve Ensler.
An avid concert performer and recitalist, Maggie made her international concert debut at the PyeongChang Winter Music Festival in South Korea. Recent concert appearances include performances with Beth Morrison Projects, the Avanti Orchestra, the Capital Fringe Festival Chamber Series, The New Dominion Chorale, the City Choir of Washington, Boston Lyric Opera Signature Series, the Handel and Haydn Society and the Halcyon Stage in Washington, DC. She is a core member of the critically acclaimed chamber ensemble The Broken Consort. The Broken Consort presented the world premiere of Movement 12 from Maggie’s new work Reassemble With Care, a composed and devised song cycle for amplified soprano and chamber ensemble.
Maggie earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music, her Master of Music degree from Peabody Conservatory and honed her opera improvisation skills at the Opera Works Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles. She currently splits her time between New York City and Boston, where she shares a home with her partner, three step-kids and three pet snakes.