Gwynne Howell (born 13 June 1938) is a Welsh
operatic
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
, known particularly for his performances of
Verdi and
Wagner roles.
Life and career
Born in
Gorseinon,
Wales, he studied at the RMCM, where he sang
Leporello in concert, and
Hunding,
Fasolt Fasolt, Fasold or Vasolt is a giant who appears in the following works:
*The Middle High German heroic poem ''Eckenlied'' (c. 1230).
*The Old Norse compendium of German legends known as the '' Thidrekssaga'' (c. 1250).
*Richard Wagner's opera '' ...
, and
Pogner in staged performances.
He joined the
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...
in 1968, and the
Royal Opera House in 1970. He was also a regular guest at the
English National Opera and the
Welsh National Opera. His roles have included most of the major bass roles of the Verdi and Wagner repertories, such as:
Miller,
Sparafucile
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
,
Ferrando,
Padre Guardiano,
Phillip II,
Landgrave,
Hans Sachs,
Gurnemanz, etc. He continued into his seventies to sing small roles on stage: Simone in ''
Gianni Schicchi'' at the
Royal Opera House in 2009 and 2016, Titurel from ''
Parsifal'' at the
Royal Opera House in 2007 under
Bernard Haitink, and Schigolch in ''
Lulu'' at the
Metropolitan Opera in 2010.
Howell took part in the premieres of two of
Peter Maxwell Davies's works, ''
Taverner'' and ''
The Doctor of Myddfai
''The Doctor of Myddfai'' is an opera in two acts composed by Peter Maxwell Davies to a libretto by David Pountney. The work premiered at the New Theatre in Cardiff on 5 June 1996, performed by the Welsh National Opera and conducted by Richard ...
''. He can be heard in studio recordings, as Jero in ''L'assedio di Corinto'', Count Walter in ''Luisa Miller'', and as Capulet in a live recording of ''
I Capuleti e i Montecchi'', opposite
Agnes Baltsa
Agni Baltsa ( el, Aγνή Mπάλτσα; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.
Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of six, before moving to Athens in 1958 to concen ...
and
Edita Gruberova, under
Riccardo Muti, at Covent Garden, in 1984.
Sources
* ''Grove Music Online'', Max Loppert, Oxford University Press, 2008.
External links
Interview with Gwynne Howell October 23, 1985
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Gwynne
1938 births
Living people
20th-century Welsh male opera singers
Welsh basses
Operatic basses
Musicians from Swansea
21st-century Welsh male opera singers
21st-century British opera singers