Artist profile: John Kaneklides, Tenor

I've been privileged to profile singers at every level here in my humble blog, but I especially like to write about young singers on the rise. I'm not sure how I first met John Kaneklides—perhaps friends in common—but I'm glad I did. I am especially glad I've seen and heard him sing, and so are many others. The Tampa Bay Times wrote of his recent performance as Hoffmann in St. Petersburg, "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." Of his Rodolfo in Ohio, WOSU Public Media wrote, "John Kaneklides fell in love convincingly as Rodolfo, approached the top notes in Che gelida manina ​with no fear and proved his fine musicianship..." Opera News has called him “the very picture of youthful optimism and potential.”

Upcoming engagements include opera concerts with Amici Music in North Carolina and Gulfshore Opera in Florida, another production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann at Skylight Opera in Milwaukee, and Alfredo in La Traviata at St. Petersburg Opera. A busy season!

Would you want to add anything to the bio-blurb that’s on your web site?

I received a dual degree in music and finance. I first gave up music for a corporate career, but I realized a part of me was missing. I started taking voice lessons again and pursuing a career. When I was granted a spot in a young artist program, I quit my job and never looked back.

I grew up in a very musical house. We listened to classical music often and I started taking violin lessons at the age of five and piano by the age of eight. When I did my first piano competition, the adjudicator was particularly impressed with my dynamic range and musicality at such a young age. That musicality has carried over to my singing, it is in my blood.

As Lieutenant Cable in South Pacific
Photo:  The Packinghouse Gallery

Your good looks are mentioned in reviews. Is it a distraction from what you are trying to accomplish, or a help?

The characters I typically portray are romantic leads. I don’t think of my looks as a distraction at all.  It still shocks me a bit when my looks are mentioned in a review or someone comments on them. I spent much of my life obese—as much as 100 pounds heavier!—but now fitness is a passion of mine.

I hope that I am cast primarily for my singing. It is essential to opera that the voice is of upmost importance. The Metropolitan Opera is even highlighting this in their add campaign this season—“The voice must be heard.”

If any director asked you to do nude scenes, would you do it?

It depends on the context of the show. I would have to have a long discussion with the director about whether the nudity was integral to the story we were telling. If it was, then I don’t see why not. It has been in my contract for several recent productions that I be shirtless in a production. Even that took some time to get used to. However, when I portray a character, I am sharing a bit of my soul. To me, it almost as vulnerable to share my emotions in an honest way though my voice and acting as it is being nude on stage.

As Hoffmann in Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Photo:  The Packinghouse Gallery

Have you had any kind of roadblocks to success?

I didn’t decide to go into singing full time until my mid 20’s, so I couldn’t easily follow the path most American singers take. Since I’d been in a different field for four years, I knew I needed additional training. I went back to school for my masters degree. While I was in grad school, I entered the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition where I was fortunate to actually meet Nico and his wife, Carol. They expressed their interest in my voice and Carol offered me a role in at an opera company she runs. Later, she even invited me to live with them for a while so I could regularly study languages with Nico, audit his courses at Julliard, and listen in on his coachings. That training and support helped give me the confidence and tools needed to launch my career and move to New York.

What's your favorite role to sing?

Do I have to pick just one?!?! I love so many roles for different reasons. I love singing Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), acting Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), and the musical language of Rodolfo (La Boheme).

Are there roles you'd love to sing that are outside of your fach?

I would love to be able to sing Violetta in La Traviata. The music Verdi gives her is so moving. Her character arch is astonishing and I love an operatic death with so much vulnerability? La Traviata is also the opera that made me fall in love with opera.

Are there roles within your fach you don't want to ever sing again?

There are a few roles I have sung before when I was trying to figure my fach that no longer feel comfortable. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about them any more.

How old are you? How has your voice changed over the years?

I’m old enough! I have really come into my voice lately. It continues to grow and I love the colors I am able to create in order to interpret the text and tell a story.

Have you done much teaching or master class work? How has that affected your own vocal technique and performing? 

I do enjoy teaching and maintain a small vocal studio in NYC and a few students I Skype with regularly. Teaching has always helped my vocal technique. I love learning and sharing what I have learned. That is true in teaching as much as it is in performing.

My favorite question from "Inside the Actor's Studio": What's your favorite swear word?

My grandfather was half Greek and would occasionally teach me some Greek words. His favorite was “scatai.” As a child he told me that it meant diarrhea, but I always knew it was something more. (It means Sh!t.) He would walk around saying, “Everybody’s got eyes” in an accent that made it sound like he said “scatais” and then he would crack up.