Jason Howard was born and raised in South Wales, UK. A singer since childhood, in his twenties he left his fire fighting career and Wales to study singing full time, firstly at Trinity College of Music, and then the Royal College of Music, London with John Wakefield and Norman Bailey respectively. He was made a fellow of Trinity College of Music in 1987. Other mentors during his career have included, Carlo Bergonzi, Alfredo Kraus, Giorgio Tozzi and acclaimed English baritone, Peter Glossop.
Following his debut in 1989 as Don Giovanni at Scottish Opera, he went on to sing at leading houses throughout Europe and the Americas. He made his European debut at The Opèra Comique in Paris in 1991 as Alphonse in La Favourite and his Paris Opéra debut as Il Conte Almaviva (Figaro) in 1994. He returned to the Bastille for La Bohème and Peter Grimes. His Covent Garden debut came as Marcello in La Bohème in 1996 and in 1998 he made his Chicago Lyric Opera debut as Adam Brant in Mourning Becomes Electra a role he also sang in Seattle and New York.
Verdi has been featured highly and Mr. Howard has sung the baritone roles in La Traviata, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Nabucco, Il Trovatore, Don Carlos, Attila and Otello in companies such as Welsh and English National Operas, Minnesota Opera, and the Caramoor Festival.
His German role debut came at Strasbourg in 2007 in the role of Wotan in Wagner’s Ring. One reviewer described him as "the Wotan of his generation”. Other roles at Strasbourg included Orest in Strauss’ Elektra, Prospero The Tempest, and the title role in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer, a role he has also performed in New Zealand and Canada. Howard further expanded his repertoire in 2010 with Scarpia Tosca ( Salzburg and Frankfurt ) and Jochanaan Salome ( Lisbon & Minnesota Opera). Other highlights include engagements at the Arena di Verona, The Royal Opera House, Theatre du Capitole, Toulouse, The Polish National Opera, The Royal Danish Opera, Opéra Bordeaux, Houston Grand Opera, Philadelphia Opera, Cincinnati Opera, New York City Opera and the Teatro Colón to name but a few.
He has performed with many leading orchestras including the LSO, BBC Symphony and Royal Philharmonic in the BBC proms at The Royal Albert Hall, London.
Howard has also remained active in musical theatre, recording several complete musicals as well as a solo disc of broadway melodies titled “Make Believe…The Hollywood Baritones”. He has performed three major musicals on stage, Show Boat at the Royal Shakespeare Company, South Pacific in the Lincoln Center production and the Man of La Mancha for Portland Opera. For Chandos records, he has recorded Malatesta in Don Pasquale and Mephisto in Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène. He also recorded a solo disc of Italian songs entitled S’Io T’amo.
Vocal instruction has played a big part in Mr. Howard’s career and he has taught peripatetically since his first year as a singer. Among the institutions where he has given masterclasses are, The Minnesota Opera, Edmonton Opera, Welsh National Opera, The University of Washington and The University of Alberta. In 2016 he was on faculty at the Taos Opera Institute in New Mexico. His most recent masterclass was at the University of Windsor, Ontario in January 2020. After a distinguished thirty one year, international career, Mr. Howard is now concentrating on his expanding his teaching practice in Toronto whilst continuing to perform in projects that engage him.
Professor Howard can be reached through e-mail at [email protected]