Gillian Keith has emerged as one of Canada’s leading lyric sopranos. Her superb voice and musicianship are at home both on the opera stage and on the concert platform‚ making her one of the most stylish and versatile artists of her generation.

A past winner of the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Award‚ she made her Royal Opera‚ Covent Garden debut as Zerbinetta in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos and has gone on to repeat the role with great success‚ most recently at the Opera de Oviedo. Other operatic appearances include Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream‚ also at ROH‚ Nannetta Falstaff and Pretty Polly in Birtwhistle’s Punch and Judy‚ both for ENO. She has sung Tiny in Britten’s Paul Bunyan for the Bregenz Festival‚ Elmira in Opera North’s Croesus‚ Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante in Halle‚ The Woodbird in Scottish Opera’s Siegfried and Poppea in Basel and in Boston.

Her concert performances include Mozart’s C Minor Mass in Boston’s Symphony Hall‚ Mahler 8 with the RPO‚ Haydn’s Creation with CBSO‚ B Minor Mass at London’s Barbican Hall and Handel’s Messiah with The Toronto Symphony‚ as well as regular appearances at The Edinburgh Festival‚ under such conductors as Sir John Eliot Gardiner‚ Daniele Gatti‚ Sir Richard Armstrong‚ Peter Schreier‚ Sir Richard Hickox‚ Gianandrea Noseda‚ Harry Christophers and Sir Mark Elder.

Recordings include Handel’s Gloria with Gardiner for Philips and several Bach Cantatas as part of his Bach Pilgrimage on Soli Deo Gloria. She has recorded orchestral songs by Dallapiccola with Gianandrea Noseda with the BBC Philharmonic‚ and most recently the role of Zerbinetta for an upcoming release of Ariadne auf Naxos with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Sir Richard Armstrong‚ both for Chandos. Her recital discs include Debussy: Early Songs for Deux-Elles and Schubert Lieder with fellow Canadian Gerald Finley on Marquis‚ as well as an all Strauss programme with pianist Simon Lepper.

Appearances this season and beyond include Bach’s St Matthew Passion in Washington Cathedral‚ Handel’s La Resurrezione with the Wiener Akademie‚ Purcell’s The Indian Queen at the Edinburgh Festival‚ the role of Lucinda in Conti’s Don Chisciotte for Netherlands Opera under Rene Jacobs and a return to Zerbinetta for Welsh National Opera and to Pretty Polly in Geneva.