JOHN
tenor
KANEKLIDES
Acclaim
HOFFMANN, LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN
"As the dazed and disheveled poet Hoffmann, Kaneklides does most of the heavy lifting in the opera. His warm tenor fills the theater with both the giddiness of new love and its tragic loss, desperation and despair. Dressed in a swanky, celery-colored silk suit, embroidered with red flora on the arms, he is a tender flower in a dark woods."
- On Milwaukee, Skylight Music Theatre
"John Kaneklides makes for a mesmerizing lead as the poet Hoffmann, equipped with matinee idol looks and a electric sound that continues to surprise... Kaneklides supplies oxygen from his jaunty Kleinzach aria in the opening scenes to its dark reprisal in the epilogue."
"Then there's Hoffmann himself, played by the brilliant John Kaneklides. Breathtakingly sublime, his tenor voice cuts through all others with its richness and warmth. Plus he's tall, dark, and handsome to boot - the textbook leading man. This is swoon-worthy stuff."
-Broadway World, Skylight Music Theatre
-Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg Opera Company
"The singing was energetic, bold, and heartfelt... As Hoffman, tenor John Kaneklides delivered the famous 'Il éait une fois à la cour d'Eisenach' (the Kleinzack aria) with crackly energy. He moved agilely across the stage and pantomimed the hunchback's head going 'crik crack.' ...There were many other pieces in this opera that wowed me: Hoffmann's ardent refrain to Guilietta, 'Ô Dieu! de quelle ivresse.' Foolish infatuation sung so eloquently."
-Skylis, St. Petersburg Opera Company
GUIDE/BORGIA, BORGIA INFAMI (WORLD PREMIERE)
"A tour guide is leading a group of American ladies through the exhibit and telling them the tale of the Borgias. We shift easily back and forth in time to see the tale enacted. The guide, by simply slipping on a doublet, becomes Narciso, the bastard son who is searching for his mother... Among the many fine voices in this production I must single out tenor John Kaneklides for special praise. He sings the double role of the tour guide and Narciso. Kaneklides has a remarkably strong and clear voice, and his diction is astonishingly perfect. No need to glance at the supertitles when this man is singing."
-Broadway World, Winter Opera St. Louis
ALFREDO, LA TRAVIATA
"John Kaneklides as Alfredo, her lover, comes with the requisite skills and delivers fine moments… Kaneklides has stage presence and leading-man looks; he’s magnetic… he believably portrayed Alfredo’s naive infatuation, and later, the character’s brash machismo and ultimate remorse."
-Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg Opera Company
"Alfredo was beautifully sung and enacted by talented tenor John Kaneklides. His commitment to the character of the young provincial man who loses his heart to the beautiful courtesan was total; his ringing tenor, a young yet manly sound, is one to watch. We witnessed his moods of romantic adoration, disappointment, anger and remorse with never a false moment."
-Voche di meche, Delaware Valley Opera
MICAH, SLOW DUSK (FLOYD)
"Particular praise was merited by the love scene of Sadie and Micah, here beautifully rendered by soprano Carolina Castells and tenor John Kaneklides...Kaneklides was the very picture of youthful optimism and potential."
-Opera News, Little Opera Theatre of New York
"Saidie wants to marry Micah (John Kaneklides)... who endows each syllable with crystal-clear perfection."
-Theatre Mania, Little Opera Theatre of New York
LT. JOSEPH CABLE, SOUTH PACIFIC
"As the doomed Lt. Joseph Cable, John Kaneklides is sensational, one of the best interpretations of the part I have ever seen. Tall and good-looking in a way that is both Kennedy-esque and Romney-esque, Kaneklides makes us care for Cable and understand his plight. And whenever he sings, his glorious voice makes the audience melt. His 'Younger Than Springtime' and especially the chillingly real 'You've Got to Be Carefully Taught' are simply brilliant."
-Broadway World, St. Petersburg Opera Company
RODOLFO, LA BOHÈME
"John Kaneklides fell in love convincingly as Rodolfo, approached the top notes in Che gelida manina with no fear and proved his fine musicianship."
-WOSU Public Media, Mid-Ohio Opera
TRIQUET, EUGINE ONEGIN
"The smaller roles were adeptly handled…especially John Kaneklides."
- Opera News, Opera Carolina
"Among the men, Mr. Kaneklides was a very funny Triquet.... John Kaneklides was very good in his singing; one would want to hear him in a longer role."
-Opera Lively, Opera Carolina
OBADIAH, MENDELSSOHN'S ELIJAH
"the richly mellifluous tenor of John Kaneklides was a draught of cool water all-too-seldom heard in the recitatives of Obadiah, the righteous servant of the wicked King Ahab, and “If with all your hearts, ye truly seek Me."
-Classical Voice of North Carolina, Central Piedmont Opera