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John Gilks

John trained as a mathematician before working all over the world in management consulting. He’s now settled in downtown Toronto as an e-health strategy consultant. His operatric interests are eclectic but lean to the very early and very modern. He is also passionate about art song. His writings can be found in Opera Canada magazine and in his blog. He is owned by a small, grey cat called Jane.

Autor:John Gilks

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Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Gustavo Gimeno and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra © Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Underwhelming Strauss redeemed by blazing Beethoven in Toronto

Von John Gilks, 12. November 2026

Rachel Willis-Sørensen’s account of Strauss’ Four Last Songs fails to generate emotional impact but a blistering Beethoven 4 provides ample compensation.

***11

Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Gustavo Gimeno and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra © Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Underwhelming Strauss redeemed by blazing Beethoven in Toronto

Martina Myskohlid (Dorabella) and Joel Allison (Guglielmo) © Michael Cooper

School for Lovers: Canadian Opera Company’s Così fan tutte revival doesn’t disappoint

Von John Gilks, 8. Oktober 2026

The COC’s revival of Cosi fan tutte is still a visual feast and a few deft updates and some terrific singing make it well worth seeing, even for the third time!

****1

Martina Myskohlid (Dorabella) and Joel Allison (Guglielmo) © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera’s Così fan tutte revival doesn’t disappoint

Kathryn Lewek (Violetta) and Long Long (Alfredo) © Michael Cooper

Kathryn Lewek leads a solid Traviata revival at Canadian Opera Company

Von John Gilks, 18. September 2026

The COC’s revival of Verdi’s La traviata features fine singing, especially from Kathryn Lewek’s Violetta, but has perhaps lost a little of the edge of previous runs.

***11

Kathryn Lewek (Violetta) and Long Long (Alfredo) © Michael Cooper

A solid Traviata revival at Canadian Opera Company

Les Arts Florissants © Lucky Tang

William Christie and Les Arts Florissants provide a stylish opening to Toronto Summer Music

Von John Gilks, 9. Juli 2026

Excellent use of movement and dance enhances stylish music-making in Toronto Summer Music’s opening night Charpentier double bill.

****1

Les Arts Florissants © Lucky Tang

Les Arts Florissants provide a stylish opening to Toronto Summer Music

Taylor-Alexis Dupont (Lizzie) © Eric Forget Photography

Brilliant but harrowing: 10 Days in a Madhouse receives Canadian premiere

Von John Gilks, 16. Juni 2026

10 Days in a Madhouse is a musically and dramatically excellent but disturbing insight into conditions in a women’s asylum brought to life in Toronto by an excellent production.

****1

Taylor-Alexis Dupont (Lizzie) © Eric Forget Photography

10 Days in a Madhouse receives Canadian premiere

Golda Schultz, Ema Nikolovska, Saimir Pirgu and Jongmin Park © Allan Cabral | Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Gustavo Gimeno and the TSO give Beethoven’s Ninth the grand treatment

Von John Gilks, 11. Juni 2026

Gustavo Gimeno and the TSO give a performance that’s both carefully thought out and very grand, aided by excellent soloists and the huge Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

****1

Golda Schultz, Ema Nikolovska, Saimir Pirgu and Jongmin Park © Allan Cabral | Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Gustavo Gimeno and the TSO give Beethoven’s Ninth the grand treatment

Victoria Karkacheva (Charlotte) © Michael Cooper

Massenet’s Werther oozes quiet despair in new Canadian Opera Company staging

Von John Gilks, 7. Mai 2026

Excellent performances cannot turn a conventional production of Massenet’s Werther into a dramatic experience for the 21st century.

***11

Victoria Karkacheva (Charlotte) © Michael Cooper

Werther oozes quiet despair in new Canadian Opera Company staging

Karen Cargill (Judith) and Christian Van Horn (Bluebeard) © Michael Cooper

Robert Lepage’s pairing of Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung remains compelling theatre

Von John Gilks, 25. April 2026

Some 30 years after its first appearance, Robert Lepage’s double bill of Duke Bluebeards Castle and Erwartung is still strikingly effective and very modern-looking music theatre.

*****

Karen Cargill (Judith) and Christian Van Horn (Bluebeard) © Michael Cooper

Lepage’s Bluebeard and Erwartung pairing remains compelling theatre

The cast of The Barber of Seville © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company’s Barber of Seville proves as fresh as ever

Von John Gilks, 5. Februar 2026

The Barber is back in Toronto with an excellent cast, young and old, and it’s as lively, colourful and energetic as ever.

****1

The cast of The Barber of Seville © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company’s Barber proves as fresh as ever

Iestyn Davies (Orfeo) © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company's Orfeo ed Euridice returns elegant, restrained and very satisfying

Von John Gilks, 9. Oktober 2025

The restrained beauty of Robert Carsen’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice is matched by musical elegance in its revival current revival at the Four Seasons Centre.

*****

Iestyn Davies (Orfeo) © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera's Orfeo returns elegant, restrained and very satisfying

Stephen Costello (Roméo) and Kseniia Proshina (Juliette) © Michael Cooper

Shakespeare in New York: Canadian Opera Company again opens season with Gounod

Von John Gilks, 27. September 2025

Amy Lane’s production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the COC is eye-catching and enjoyable but doesn’t offer the same level of insight as her Faust last season.

***11

Stephen Costello (Roméo) and Kseniia Proshina (Juliette) © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company opens season with Roméo et Juliette

Gustavo Gimeno, Sean Michael Plumb and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra © Allan Cabral, Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Toronto Symphony kicks off season with an unusual and effective double bill

Von John Gilks, 18. September 2025

The Toronto Symphony kicks off the 2025-26 season with an intriguing and exciting double bill of the very new and the very familiar.

****1

Gustavo Gimeno, Sean Michael Plumb and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra © Allan Cabral, Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Toronto Symphony kicks off season with an effective double bill

Stewart Goodyear at pre-concert chamber performance © Allan Cabral, courtesy of the TSO

Kristiina Poska and Stewart Goodyear team up in a satisfying melange of Classic and Caribbean

Von John Gilks, 28. Mai 2025

Kristiina Poska makes a successful Toronto debut with solid Beethoven and some spicy Caribbean fireworks from Stewart Goodyear.

***11

Stewart Goodyear at pre-concert chamber performance © Allan Cabral, courtesy of the TSO

A satisfying melange of Classic and Caribbean with the Toronto SO

Andrii Kymach (Onegin) and Lauren Fagan (Tatyana) © Michael Cooper

Eugene Onegin revival fails to find the magic spark in Toronto

Von John Gilks, 2. Mai 2025

Robert Carsen’s 1997 production of Eugene Onegin has aged remarkably well but the latest Canadian Opera Company revival of it doesn’t quite recapture its magic.

***11

Andrii Kymach (Onegin) and Lauren Fagan (Tatyana) © Michael Cooper

Eugene Onegin revival fails to find the magic spark in Toronto

Ambur Braid (Marie) © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company triumphs with Kentridge’s brilliantly conceived Wozzeck

Von John Gilks, 25. April 2025

William Kentridge's production of Berg’s Wozzeck has it all: wonderfully imaginative and disturbing designs, terrific acting and singing plus fabulous orchestral playing.

*****

Ambur Braid (Marie) © Michael Cooper

COC triumphs with Kentridge’s brilliantly conceived Wozzeck

Vadim Gluzman, Otto Tausk and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra © Jae Yang

A curiously low-key performance from the Vancouver Symphony on tour

Von John Gilks, 16. März 2025

Despite a rousing start the touring VSO produce some understated Brahms and Shostakovich at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall.

**111

Vadim Gluzman, Otto Tausk and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra © Jae Yang

A curiously low-key performance from the Vancouver Symphony on tour

Kirsten MacKinnon (Christine) © Michael Cooper

Musically and visually stunning: La Reine-garçon ticks all the boxes in Toronto

Von John Gilks, 31. Januar 2025

Bilodeau and Bouchard’s La Reine-garçon is contemporary opera at its best, telling a great story with outstanding music and stunning visuals.

*****

Kirsten MacKinnon (Christine) © Michael Cooper

Musically and visually stunning, La Reine-garçon ticks all the boxes

John Adams conducts the Toronto Symphony Orchestra © Allan Cabral

John Adams trumps Trump in Toronto

Von John Gilks, 6. November 2024

John Adams returns to Toronto to conduct the TSO in an exciting and varied programme marked also by the debut of Spotlight Artist Anna Prohaska.

****1

John Adams conducts the Toronto Symphony Orchestra © Allan Cabral

John Adams trumps Trump in Toronto

Mary Elizabeth Williams (Abigaille) and Rihan Chaieb (Fenena) © Michael Cooper

Fine music-making redeems dull production in COC’s season opening Nabucco

Von John Gilks, 4. Oktober 2024

The Canadian Opera Company’s season opening production is musically excellent, but the dated, dull production adds little.

***11

Mary Elizabeth Williams (Abigaille) and Rihan Chaieb (Fenena) © Michael Cooper

Fine music-making redeems dull production in COC’s Nabucco

Gustavo Gimeno © Allan Cabral

Toronto Symphony Orchestra pay tribute to Sir Andrew Davis, with works new and old

Von John Gilks, 1. Mai 2024

The TSO effectively combine new and old with a first rate performance of the enargeia suite by Emily D’Angelo, followed by a satisfying Brahms First Symphony. A fitting tribute to dedicatee Sir Andrew Davis.

****1

Gustavo Gimeno © Allan Cabral

Toronto Symphony Orchestra pay tribute to Sir Andrew Davis

Gordon Bintner (Don Giovanni) and Mané Galoyan (Donna Anna) © Michael Cooper

Kasper Holten's cinematic Don Giovanni shines at the Canadian Opera Company

Von John Gilks, 2. Februar 2024

Kasper Holten’s much travelled and spectacular Don Giovanni gets a fresh and lively remount at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre from a young cast headed up by Gordon Bintner.

****1

Gordon Bintner (Don Giovanni) and Mané Galoyan (Donna Anna) © Michael Cooper

Kasper Holten's cinematic Don Giovanni shines at the COC

Roland Wood (Scarpia) and Sinead Campbell-Wallace (Tosca) © Michael Cooper

Puccini's “shabby little shocker” fails to shock at COC in Toronto

Von John Gilks, 5. Mai 2023

Fourth time around Paul Curran’s production of Tosca at the Canadian Opera Company is workmanlike and well sung, but lacks the necessary dramatic edge to be truly memorable.

**111

Roland Wood (Scarpia) and Sinead Campbell-Wallace (Tosca) © Michael Cooper

Puccini's “shabby little shocker” fails to shock in Toronto

Quinn Kelsey (Macbeth) © Michael Cooper

McVicar's grim and creepy Macbeth impresses at Canadian Opera Company

Von John Gilks, 28. April 2023

Sir David McVicar's grim and creepy take on Verdi's Macbeth, backed up by brilliant conducting from Speranza Scappucci and a fine performance of the title role by Quinn Kelsey, is the best thing seen at the COC since lockdown.

****1

Quinn Kelsey (Macbeth) © Michael Cooper

McVicar's grim and creepy Macbeth impresses at Canadian Opera Company

Meghan Lindsay (Mary Magdelen), Allyson McHardy (Mary Cleophas) and Alexis Basque (Trumpet) © Bruce Zinger

Opera Atelier's long delayed La resurrezione: spectacular designs and first class singing

Von John Gilks, 6. April 2023

The young Handel's homage to Counter Reformation Rome, La resurrezione, is effectively brought to life by Opera Atelier with glittering sets and fine, stylish singing.

****1

Meghan Lindsay (Mary Magdelen), Allyson McHardy (Mary Cleophas) and Alexis Basque (Trumpet) © Bruce Zinger

Opera Atelier's long delayed La resurrezione

Joshua Hopkins and Margaret Atwood © Curtis Perry

Joshua Hopkins and the NACO shine in Heggie and Atwood’s new Songs for Murdered Sisters

Von John Gilks, 11. Februar 2023

The National Arts Centre Orchestra and Joshua Hopkins bring Jake Heggie and Margaret Atwood’s Songs for Murdered Sisters to Roy Thomson Hall, intriguingly partnered with two works from the high Romantic.

****1

Joshua Hopkins and Margaret Atwood © Curtis Perry

Hopkins shines in Heggie and Atwood’s Songs for Murdered Sisters

Ambur Braid (Salome) © Michael Cooper

Ambur Braid’s Salome sets the Four Seasons Centre alight

Von John Gilks, 3. Februar 2023

Ambur Braid excels in the title role in the Canadian Opera Company’s starrily cast revival of Atom Egoyan's production.

*****

Ambur Braid (Salome) © Michael Cooper

Ambur Braid’s Salome sets the Four Seasons Centre alight

Lauren Fagan (Countess), Emily Fons (Cherubino) and Andrea Carroll (Susanna) © Michael Cooper

Canadian Opera Company's sexed up Figaro: beautifully sung, creepily funny

Von John Gilks, 27. Januar 2023

The COC revival of its 2016 production of Le nozze di Figaro is still rooted in Claus Guth’s gloomy Scandinavia but it’s lightened up to become much sexier and funnier.

****1

Lauren Fagan (Countess), Emily Fons (Cherubino) and Andrea Carroll (Susanna) © Michael Cooper

COC's sexed up Figaro: beautifully sung, creepily funny

Canadian Opera Company’s Magic Flute returns as a well sung whimsical comedy

Von John Gilks, 6. Mai 2022

The COC’s revival of The Magic Flute is mostly played for laughs and makes an enjoyable, if undemanding, evening.

***11

COC’s Magic Flute returns as a well sung whimsical comedy

Canadian Opera Company returns to live performance with a beautifully sung Traviata

Von John Gilks, 23. April 2022

Young Egyptian-New Zealand soprano Amina Edris makes a great impression in a revival of Arin Arbus’ strong 2015 production.

****1

COC returns to live performance with beautifully sung Traviata

COC's visually arresting Hänsel und Gretel brimming with ideas

Von John Gilks, 6. Februar 2020

Leaving unresolved loose ends aside and viewed from a child’s perspective, Joel Ivany’s new Hänsel und Gretel at the Canadian Opera Company it’s a fun night at the opera.

***11

COC's visually arresting Hänsel und Gretel brimming with ideas

Classic Robert Wilson: Turandot opens Canadian Opera Company season

Von John Gilks, 28. September 2019

Director Robert Wilson and conductor Carlo Rizzi combine effectively to create a visually striking and musically memorable Turandot that emphasizes the hieratic and the mythical with a notable absence of unnecessary histrionics.

****1

Classic Robert Wilson: Turandot opens Canadian Opera Company season

A briskly conducted Bohème revived in Toronto

Von John Gilks, 5. Mai 2019

The COC's revival production of Puccini's La bohème is an enjoyable trip to the opera but it won't blow your socks off.

***11

A briskly conducted Bohème revived in Toronto

Kopernikus: an immersive, disorienting and thought-provoking experience in Toronto

Von John Gilks, 4. April 2019

Against the Grain's production of Vivier's Kopernikus is an immersive and thought provoking realisation of the composer's late Opera – rituel de mort. It's music theatre of a rare intensity, brilliantly executed.

*****

Kopernikus: immersive, disorienting, thought-provoking

Robert Carsen's Eugene Onegin ages gracefully at COC

Von John Gilks, 30. September 2018

Robert Carsen's Eugene Onegin was binned by the Met but works wonderfully in its revival by the Canadian Opera Company COC with high class singing and acting from a young, engaging cast.

****1

Robert Carsen's Eugene Onegin ages gracefully at COC

Opera Atelier's strengths reinforced with Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

Von John Gilks, 19. April 2018

Opera Atelier's return to the earliest part of the repertoire with Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria showcases their strengths in a relatively restrained production anchored by a strong ensemble cast.

***11

Opera Atelier's strengths reinforced with Monteverdi

Crisper, tighter, more relevant: revival of Christopher Alden's Rigoletto at the COC

Von John Gilks, 20. Januar 2018

Christopher Alden’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto returned to Toronto tighter, more focussed and with fewer dramatic incongruities. Add to this that every aspect of the music making was top notch and it made for a fine evening at the theatre.

****1

Crisper, tighter, more relevant: Alden's Rigoletto at the COC