About
David Howes is a Bass-Baritone from Limerick where he studied with Olive Cowpar. He then moved on to the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama where he completed the Bachelor of Music degree with 1st class honours. David now studies with Robert Dean and is a graduate of the distinguished Young Artist Programme with Northern Ireland Opera. With NI Opera David prepared the role of Tarquinius in Rape of Lucretiaand performed Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte.
David is a multiple competition winner both in Limerick and Dublin. In the Féis Ceoil, he has won the Cuisine de France John McCormack Bursary, the Baritone solo, and the Count John McCormack Memorial Cup, to name but a few.
Highlights in oratorio include: Baritone solo in Puccini’s Messa Di Gloria (Limerick Choral Union) and the Bass solos in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Co-Orch Dublin), Vaughan-Williams’ First Nowell (Culwick Choral Society),Requiems by Saint-Saens, Brahms (Dun Laoghaire Choral Society), Mozart (with the Belfast Philharmonic Choir and Ulster Orchestra), Stanford and Faure, Mozart’sCoronation Mass in C, Great Minor Mass, Haydn'sNelson Massand The Creation (Chorus Ireland),and Handel's Messiah (Dun Laoghaire Choral Society), Dettingen Te Deum (Limerick Choral Union)and Dixit Dominus with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
In opera, David has performed the roles of Jack and Flynn in the world premier of Andrew Synott’s Dubliners (A co-production between Opera Theatre Company & Wexford Festival Opera), Title role in Hans Krasa’s Brundibar(Killaloe Chamber Music Festival), Count Ceprano in Rigoletto (OTC), Buff in Der Schauspieldirektor (Irish National Opera), Prince Yamadori in Madame Butterfly (Lyric Opera, Dublin), Figaro in le nozze di Figaro (Zerere Arts Festival), Peintre and 2ndPhilosophe in Charpentier’s Louise(Buxton Opera Festival), Il Cosacco inRisurrezione by Franco Alfano, Sciarrone in Tosca,and 2ndArcher in le pre aux clerc (WFO).Other roles include: Noye in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde , French Soldier 1 in the European Premiere of Silent Night (WFO), Quince in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Yorke Trust, Norfolk), Marchese d'Obigny in La traviata and 'Seargent' in la boheme (Lyric Opera), and John Styx in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld.
David has covered Figaro in Irish National Opera’s Inaugural production of le nozze di Figaro, the Title Role and Masetto in Don Giovanni (Northern Ireland Opera) conducted by Nicholas Chalmers and directed by Oliver Mears, and Bohus in Dvorak’s Jacobin (Buxton Festival Opera)conducted by Stephen Barlow. In the last number of years, he has also had the privilege of taking part in masterclasses with musicians of international renown including: Simon Keenlyside, Sir Thomas Allen, Gidon Saks, Patricia Bardon, Ann Murray, Malcolm Martineau, Katherine Harris, Susan Bullock, Ian Burnside, and Graham Johnson.
Future engagements include: Performing Mozart’s Requiem and Great C minor Masswith the Limerick Choral Union in April 2019 and a recital in the Rua Centre, Ballyrowan in late 2018.
