Howell, Gwynne (Richard)

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Howell, Gwynne (Richard)

Howell, Gwynne (Richard), Welsh bass; b. Gorseinon, June 13, 1938. He was educated at the Univ. of Wales in Swansea (B.Sc.) and pursued training in town planning at the Univ. of Manchester. He also studied voice with Redvers Llewellyn, at the Royal Manchester Coll. of Music with Gwilym Jones, and in London with Otakar Kraus (1968–72). While in Manchester, he gained experience singing Hunding, Fasolt, and Pogner. In 1968 he made his first appearance at the Sadler’s Wells Opera in London as Monterone, where he became a principal artist, and with its successor, the English National Opera. In 1970 he made his debut at Covent Garden in London as the 1st Nazarene in Salome, where he later created the title role in Maxwell Davies’ Taverner (July 12, 1972) and sang various Italian, German, and French roles. On Jan. 21, 1985, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Lodovico. Among his finest roles were the Commendatore, Sarastro, Pimen, Timur, Gurnemanz, the Landgrave, Philip II, and Hans Sachs. He also sang widely in concert. In 1998 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire