Stuart Howe
Encyclopedia
Stuart Howe is an opera
tic tenor
born in Saint John, New Brunswick
, Canada.
, Saint John
, in 1985.
At the age of fourteen, Howe began what became a highly successful and well know music entertainment company in the Canadian Maritimes. Due to his age, his family had to take turns driving his vans to and from jobs, until he was able to obtain a driver's license at sixteen.
Following high school he attended the University of New Brunswick
in Fredericton
briefly, before leaving to pursue his true ambition of the time: broadcasting. His talent was quickly recognized and he landed his first job at CFBC in Saint John. Stuart's radio career progressed and took him to Prince Edward Island
, British Columbia
and finally to Alberta
.
, Alberta
in the city of Fort McMurray, Howe discovered his singing talent through a series of unexpected events. Until this time, he had not sung or participated in any theatrical pursuits of any kind.
Not without substantial risk, he ended his successful radio career and began the challenge of returning to school as a mature student to begin vocal training, first attending Grant MacEwan College
in Edmonton where he obtained a diploma in Music Theatre.
While enrolled, he met noted American voice teacher Richard Miller
, who encouraged Stuart to devote his talent to opera alone and in the fall of 1993, Stuart moved to Oberlin, Ohio
for a two year Performance Diploma in voice – a curriculum exception created specifically for him by the school at Miller's request.
After completing this diploma at Oberlin, Stuart spent two more years studying the finer details of operatic performance with John Moriarty
at the New England Conservatory of Music
in Boston
, Massachusetts
, before moving to Germany to pursue his career.
In numerous interviews, Howe has likened his entering the opera world to that of "being dropped on to a strange planet and being left to figure it all out alone".
in Oporto, Portugal in November 1997, he had been given only three weeks prior to the opening performance to prepare. He spent sixteen hour days learning the role while also rehearsing his movements on stage. Since then, it has become his most performed role, with a total of more than 100 performances and rising.
His efforts were such a success that the press revered him as "the quintessential Nemorino". He then returned to Canada, for his first Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème
in 1998.
The press has always been kind, praising Stuart constantly with accolades and featuring him in countless magazine and newspaper articles, as well as innumerable radio and television interviews and performances.
Throughout the years he has taken on major tenor roles of all kinds including those Lakmé
, Falstaff
, Don Pasquale
, Lucia di Lammermoor
, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, La Fille du Régiment, Gianni Schicchi
, and The Bartered Bride
. He has also appeared in Die Fledermaus
, Rossini's William Tell, Verdi's Attila, Lehár's The Merry Widow, Susannah by Carlisle Floyd
, Bellini
's La Straniera, Romberg
's The Student Prince and Rota
's The Italian Straw Hat.
Howe's career has taken him to cities throughout the world, including London, Frankfurt
, Oporto, Haifa
, Buenos Aires
, Washington
, Denver, Boston, Toronto
, Hamilton
, Calgary
, Edmonton, Ottawa
, London, Victoria, Quebec, Montreal, Regina, Saskatoon and Halifax, to name but a few.
Regarded internationally as a creator of new operatic roles, he has appeared as James Nichol in Chan Ka Nin's The Iron Road to unanimous rave reviews at the historic Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
in Toronto. The opera has inspired a movie
of the same name produced for Canada's Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
.
Prior to this debut, he also created the extensive lead role of John Higgs for Pacific Opera Victoria
's critically acclaimed world premier of Erewhon from Canadian composer Louis Applebaum
and librettist Mavor Moore
. Both world premieres were recorded and broadcast nationwide on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
. He also created lead roles in world premier operas such as Pulitzer Prize
winning composer Robert Ward's Lady Kate, where he created the role of Tom Wade (leading to his first review in Opera News while still a student at Oberlin); and the role of Marco in The Padrone, a work written by Chadwick, former President of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
He has also been recipient of several prestigious career development grants and awards from various organizations including The Canada Council for the Arts. He was a 2001 Dora Award nominee for his portrayal of James Nichol in The Iron Road and was a Toronto winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
in 1999.
's Oakville Electoral District
nomination. He lost a very divided contest and has since returned to his successful performance career. He remains very active in various areas of political life.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
born in Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, Canada.
Early life
Raised in the countryside along the Saint John River, Stuart attended rural elementary and junior high schools before graduating from St. Malachy's Memorial High SchoolSt. Malachy's Memorial High School
St. Malachy's Memorial High School is a high school in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.-History:...
, Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, in 1985.
At the age of fourteen, Howe began what became a highly successful and well know music entertainment company in the Canadian Maritimes. Due to his age, his family had to take turns driving his vans to and from jobs, until he was able to obtain a driver's license at sixteen.
Following high school he attended the University of New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...
in Fredericton
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
briefly, before leaving to pursue his true ambition of the time: broadcasting. His talent was quickly recognized and he landed his first job at CFBC in Saint John. Stuart's radio career progressed and took him to Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and finally to Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
Vocal Discovery
North of EdmontonEdmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
in the city of Fort McMurray, Howe discovered his singing talent through a series of unexpected events. Until this time, he had not sung or participated in any theatrical pursuits of any kind.
Not without substantial risk, he ended his successful radio career and began the challenge of returning to school as a mature student to begin vocal training, first attending Grant MacEwan College
Grant MacEwan College
Grant MacEwan University is a post-secondary educational institution located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1971 as "Grant MacEwan Community College,” the institution got its start by offering primarily one and two-year certificate and diploma programs. In 1988 it received approval to...
in Edmonton where he obtained a diploma in Music Theatre.
While enrolled, he met noted American voice teacher Richard Miller
Richard Miller (singer)
Richard Miller was a professor of singing at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the author of numerous books on singing technique and vocal pedagogy....
, who encouraged Stuart to devote his talent to opera alone and in the fall of 1993, Stuart moved to Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, to the south and west of Cleveland. Oberlin is perhaps best known for being the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students...
for a two year Performance Diploma in voice – a curriculum exception created specifically for him by the school at Miller's request.
After completing this diploma at Oberlin, Stuart spent two more years studying the finer details of operatic performance with John Moriarty
John Moriarty (Conductor)
John Moriarty , is a conductor and stage director of productions at opera companies throughout the USA, and a noted vocal coach and accompanist. He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts...
at the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, before moving to Germany to pursue his career.
In numerous interviews, Howe has likened his entering the opera world to that of "being dropped on to a strange planet and being left to figure it all out alone".
Operatic career
When Stuart made his European debut as Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amoreL'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
in Oporto, Portugal in November 1997, he had been given only three weeks prior to the opening performance to prepare. He spent sixteen hour days learning the role while also rehearsing his movements on stage. Since then, it has become his most performed role, with a total of more than 100 performances and rising.
His efforts were such a success that the press revered him as "the quintessential Nemorino". He then returned to Canada, for his first Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
in 1998.
The press has always been kind, praising Stuart constantly with accolades and featuring him in countless magazine and newspaper articles, as well as innumerable radio and television interviews and performances.
Throughout the years he has taken on major tenor roles of all kinds including those Lakmé
Lakmé
Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
, Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
, Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, La Fille du Régiment, Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
, and The Bartered Bride
The Bartered Bride
The Bartered Bride is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The opera is considered to have made a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863–66, and first performed at the...
. He has also appeared in Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
, Rossini's William Tell, Verdi's Attila, Lehár's The Merry Widow, Susannah by Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...
, Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
's La Straniera, Romberg
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
's The Student Prince and Rota
Nino Rota
Nino Rota was an Italian composer and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti...
's The Italian Straw Hat.
Howe's career has taken him to cities throughout the world, including London, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Oporto, Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Denver, Boston, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Edmonton, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, London, Victoria, Quebec, Montreal, Regina, Saskatoon and Halifax, to name but a few.
Regarded internationally as a creator of new operatic roles, he has appeared as James Nichol in Chan Ka Nin's The Iron Road to unanimous rave reviews at the historic Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres are a pair of stacked theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Winter Garden theatre is seven stories above the Elgin Theatre....
in Toronto. The opera has inspired a movie
Iron Road (film)
Iron Road is a 2009 Canada/China television miniseries written by Barry Pearson and Raymond Storey and directed by David Wu. Starring Peter O’Toole, Sam Neill, Luke Macfarlane, Charlotte Sullivan and Sun Li, Iron Road chronicles the untold story of Chinese workers who helped to build the Canadian...
of the same name produced for Canada's Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
.
Prior to this debut, he also created the extensive lead role of John Higgs for Pacific Opera Victoria
Pacific Opera Victoria
Pacific Opera Victoria is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It performs four full productions per season at Victoria's Royal Theatre accompanied by members of the Victoria Symphony...
's critically acclaimed world premier of Erewhon from Canadian composer Louis Applebaum
Louis Applebaum
Louis Applebaum, was a Canadian composer, administrator, and conductor.He was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music with Leo Smith and the University of Toronto with Boris Berlin, Healey Willan and Ernest MacMillan...
and librettist Mavor Moore
Mavor Moore
James Mavor Moore, CC, OBC was a Canadian writer, producer, actor, public servant, critic, and educator.-Biography:...
. Both world premieres were recorded and broadcast nationwide on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. He also created lead roles in world premier operas such as Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning composer Robert Ward's Lady Kate, where he created the role of Tom Wade (leading to his first review in Opera News while still a student at Oberlin); and the role of Marco in The Padrone, a work written by Chadwick, former President of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
He has also been recipient of several prestigious career development grants and awards from various organizations including The Canada Council for the Arts. He was a 2001 Dora Award nominee for his portrayal of James Nichol in The Iron Road and was a Toronto winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist, promote, and develop young opera singers. The competition is held in four stages: Districts, Regional, Semi-Final, and...
in 1999.
Political life
In August 2009, Howe entered politics for the first time as a contestant for the Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
's Oakville Electoral District
Oakville (electoral district)
Oakville is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-History:It was created in 1996 from parts of Halton and Oakville—Milton ridings....
nomination. He lost a very divided contest and has since returned to his successful performance career. He remains very active in various areas of political life.