Finnegan Downie Dear

Conductor
Written by ARSIS Artist Management

Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Ravel - Brahms
 An emerging conductor of acute musical discernement… Downie Dear led with exacting attention to balance and detail, creating tension and expectancy… An utterly absorbing experience.

Sydney Morning Herald (03/07/2025)

Hamburg State Opera - Falstaff
 Conductor Finnegan Downie Dear has a rock solid hold on what comes out of the pit, and the orchestra play for him with razor sharp precision and a joy in the ensemble.

Seen and Heard International ( April 7, 2025)

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Season 25/26 and Highlights

GÜRZENICH ORCHESTRA COLOGNE
Voice of Opera
Sep 21

Welsh National Opera
A Night at the Opera
Sep 26, Oct 1/9/16

SEMPEROPER DRESDEN
STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN
Oct 12/13/14

  • ROYAL OPERA HOUSE COVENT GARDEN
    Magic Flute
    Oct 23/28/30, Nov 1/3 

    KAMMERAKADEMIE POTSDAM Strauss - String Sextet for the Opera “Capriccio”
    Berg - Chamber Concerto op. 8
    van Beethoven - Suite from “The Creatures of Prometheus” op. 43 (selection)
    Nov 8 

    BALTHASAR-NEUMANN ORCHESTRA
    Beethoven at his Best
    van Beethoven - Overture “To the Naming Party”
    van Beethoven - Violin Concerto in D major
    van Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 A major
    Nov 21 Baden-Baden
    Nov 34 Elbphilharmonie 

    ATHENS STATE ORCHESTRA
    Beethoven 's Triple Concerto
    van Beethoven - Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C major, op. 56
    Janacek - Taras Bulba, rhapsody for orchestra
    Ravel - La Valse
    Dec 5

    BREMEN PHILHARMONIC
    Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin – Suite d'Orchestre
    Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
    Elgar - Enigma Variations
    Dec 14/15

    ENESCU PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
    Enescu - Rhapsody No. 2, in D major, Op. 11
    Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
    Strauss - Rosenkavalier Suite
    Ravel - La Valse
    Jan 15  

    BERLIN STATE OPERA
    Mozart - Don Giovanni
    Feb 6/17/19/21/25

    SWEDISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
    Ravel - Ma Mere l' Oye
    Poulenc - The Human Voice
    Mar 5

    OPÉRA DE LYON
    Billy Budd
    Mar 21/23/27/29/31, Apr 2/4 

    BERLIN STATE OPERA
    Turn of the Screw
    Apr 10/12/18/21

    OPERA FESTIVAL GARSINGTON OPERA
    The Rosenkavalier
    May 28/30, Jun 5/14/16/19/25/27/29

 

Biography

British conductor Finnegan Downie Dear has established an international presence through his work across both symphonic and operatic repertoire, developing close relationships with leading orchestras and opera houses throughout Europe and beyond.

  • The 2025/26 season sees Downie Dear return to the Staatskapelle Dresden for subscription concerts, following his debut with the orchestra last year. He will also return to the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Bremen Philharmonic, Kammerakademie Potsdam, and the Athens State Symphony. Debuts include the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Enescu Philharmonic and the orchestra of Welsh National Opera, as well as leading a tour with the Balthasar Neumann Orchestra to Baden-Baden and the Elbphilharmonie. Operatic highlights this season include debuts at Opéra de Lyon (Billy Budd) and Garsington Opera (Der Rosenkavalier), as well as a return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Die Zauberflöte).

    Downie Dear is a regular guest at the Staatsoper Berlin, returning in 2025/26 for Don Giovanni and The Turn of the Screw. At the Staatsoper, he has previously conducted productions of Věc Makropulos and Le nozze di Figaro, as well as numerous concerts with the Staatskapelle Berlin, in repertoire ranging from Schubert and Ravel to Kurtág, Benjamin, and Abrahamsen.

    In recent seasons, Downie Dear has led concerts with the London Philharmonic, The Hallé, Gothenburg Symphony, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Bochum Symphony, Bamberg Symphony, DSO Berlin, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Soloists with whom he has collaborated include Kirill Gerstein, Mikhail Pletnev, Paul Lewis, Steven Osborne, Gil Shaham, Isabelle Faust, Veronika Eberle, James Ehnes, and Gautier Capuçon.

    His recent operatic appearances include the Staatsoper Hamburg (Eugene Onegin and Falstaff), Theater an der Wien (Voice Killer by Miroslav Srnka), the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Gerald Barry), Korean National Opera (Hänsel und Gretel), Polish National Opera (Die tote Stadt), and the Aix-en-Provence Festival, in Oliver Leith’s acclaimed reimagining of Billy Budd. He has also performed at the Salzburg Osterfestspiele and the Tokyo Spring Festival.

    Downie Dear is Artistic Director of Shadwell Opera — a London-based company committed to contemporary British repertoire and experimental operatic forms. Their production of Oliver Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are toured to the Mariinsky Theatre and to Bamberg, in partnership with the Bamberger Symphoniker. Last summer, the company gave the world premiere of The Devil’s Den by Isabella Gellis at the Nevill Holt Festival, and Downie Dear will bring the piece to Opera North in a new production in November 2025.

    Born in London, Downie Dear graduated with distinction in musicology from the University of Cambridge and in piano from the Royal Academy of Music. He came to international attention in 2020 when he was awarded First Prize at the International Mahler Competition of the Bamberger Symphoniker.

    2025/26

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    Any changes or reductions must be approved by ARSIS Artist Management. Please do not use older material.

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