Voice: | Baritone |
Nationality: | English |
Year of Birth: | 1934 |
Neil Howlett (born 24 July 1934) is a retired English operatic baritone who has sung leading roles in major opera houses and festivals in the UK and abroad, including the Royal Opera House, Teatro Colón, and the English National Opera, where he was the Principal Baritone for seventeen years. Described by John Steane as "a vibrant voice somewhat in the Amato/Franci line", Howlett's repertoire included over 80 roles.
Howlett was born in Mitcham and was educated St Paul's Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge followed by further studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart. In 1957, while still at Cambridge, he won the Kathleen Ferrier Award, and in 1964 made his debut in the world premiere performance of Benjamin Britten's Curlew River.
The peak of his career was the seventeen years he spent as principal baritone with the English National Opera, where he created the role of The Mirador in Gordon Crosse's The Story of Vasco (1974) and the title role David Blake's Toussaint (1977). His wide range of repertoire included the heaviest Verdi and Puccini roles, especially Iago in Otello and Scarpia in Tosca, and many Heldenbaritone roles, such as Amfortas in Parsifal and Jokanaan in Salome. Late in his career he also sang Wotan/Wanderer in Wagner's Ring cycle. Amongst his other roles were Prince Andrei in Prokofiev's War and Peace and Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande.