Background
Howlett was born in Mitcham and was educated Street Paul"s Cathedral School and King"s College, Cambridge followed by further studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart.
Howlett was born in Mitcham and was educated Street Paul"s Cathedral School and King"s College, Cambridge followed by further studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart.
Described by John Steane as "a vibrant voice somewhat in the Amato/Franci line", Howlett"s repertoire included over 80 roles. 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. Howlett was a professor at the Guildhall School of Music, and later, after retiring from full-time performance, Head of Vocal Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music.
He still teaches privately in London and Lincolnshire. Howlett"s recordings include:
Studio recording, London 1968.
Label: Radio Corporation of America/Sony Civil Defense
Verdi: Otello – Charles Craig (Otello), Rosalind Plowright (Desdemona), Neil Howlett (Iago), Shelagh Squires (Emilia), Bonaventura Bottone (Cassio).
English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Mark Elder (conductor). Live recording, London 1983.
Remastered release 2001.
Label: Chandos Records Civil Defense
Stravinsky: Le rossignol – Phyllis Bryn Julson (The Nightingale), Neil Howlett (The Emperor), Felicity Palmer (The Cook), Elizabeth Laurence (Death), Michael George (The Bonze), Ian Caley (The Fisherman), John Tomlinson (The Chamberlain), British Broadcasting Corporation Singers and British Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra. Pierre Boulez (conductor).
Label: Erato Disques Civil Defense
Chabrier: Le roi malgré lui – Henri Gui (Henri de Valois), André Mallabrera (Comte de Nangis), Odile Pieti (Minka), Christiane Stutzman (Alexina), Neil Howlett (Laski), Michel Trempont (Fritelli). British Broadcasting Corporation Northern Singers and the British Broadcasting Corporation Northern Symphony Orchestra.
Manuel Rosenthal (conductor).
British Broadcasting Corporation broadcast, 1975. Britten: Gloriana – Sarah Walker (Queen Elizabeth I), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Earl of Essex), Jean Rigby (Countess of Essex), Neil Howlett (Lord Mountjoy), Alan Opie (Sir Robert Cecil), Elizabeth Vaughan (Lady Rich), Richard Van Allan (Sir Walter Raleigh), Malcolm Donnelly (Henry Cuffe). English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra.
Mark Elder (conductor).
Live recording, London 1984 (also broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation). Label: ArtHaus Musik Digital Video Disc.