Howard Crook

Although he had studied voice and music at the University of Illinois, he started his career as a drama actor and mime. When he returned to singing, he appeared first in concert and oratorio, and only a bit later also in opera (first in Seattle), however remaining largely faithful to the baroque music that he had chosen for his concert work.

From 1982, he lived in Europe, appearing a lot at festivals (Holland, Aix-en-Provence, Innsbruck, Schwetzingen), but also in regular opera theaters: Paris (Opéra-Comique and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées), Karlsruhe and frequently in Amsterdam – as well as, returning to North America, in Montréal or Los Angeles. He sang in several operas by Lully (Atys, Psyché, Alceste, Armide), in Rameau's Castor et Pollux and Pigmalion, Monteverdi's Orfeo or Cesti's Orontea. Beyond baroque opera, he sang Belmonte and Pelléas. But the focus of his career always remained on Bach's and Händel's oratorios and cantatas.

Picture source and reference 1: Bach Cantatas, reference 2: Kutsch & Riemens, reference 3