Howard Crook (Tenor)

Born: June 15, 1947 - Passaic (or Rutherford), New Jersey, USA
Died: August 27, 2024

The American-born (long domiciled in Europe) lyric tenor, Howard Crook, after finishing his education with a "master of music" degree from the University of Illinois, worked for some years in theatre and mime before returning to concert and opera.

After successfully competing in the vocal competitions of Paris and s'Hertogen-bosch, Howard Crook became a widely-known performing artist on the concert stage, in opera and through many recordings. Among these he recorded Scylla & Glaucus by Leclair, Les nuits d'été by Berlioz and the arias in Matthew Passion (BWV 244) by J.S. Bach with John Eliot Gardiner for Erato and Archiv; all of the major works of J.S. Bach, and Armide (Renaud) by Lully with Philippe Herreweghe for Virgin and Harmonia Mundi; Messiah by George Frideric Handel with Trevor Pinnock for Deutsche Grammophon and Fairy Queen by Purcell with Roger Norrington for EMI.

Howard Crook sang in most of the major music festivals of Europe and apart from his Bach-work, he has sung the major tenor roles in most of the operas of Lully, Rameau and Mozart. He has sung in productions of Entführung (Belmonte) by W.A. Mozart with Dennis Russel Davies in Amsterdam, with Christopher Hogwood in London and with Lyon Opera. Also Pelléas et Melisande (Pelléas) by Debussy with Michel Plasson, Atys (Atys) by Lully with William Christie with Paris Opera and Brooklyn Academy, New York; and Castor et Pollux (Castor) by Rameau at the festival of Aix-en-Provençe.

Howard Crook died on August 27, 2024, at the age of 77.

Sources:
Vantaa Baroque Music Website
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (May 2001)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Anders Eby

Tenor

BWV 232

Eric Ericson

Tenor

BWV 245, BWV 248
[CR-9] (Early 1990's?, Radio recording): BWV 9

John Eliot Gardiner

Tenor

BWV 244

Andrew Parrott

Tenor

BWV 243

Philippe Herreweghe

Tenor

BWV 21 [1^st], BWV 42, BWV 73 [1^st], BWV 80, BWV 93 [1^st], BWV 105 [1^st], BWV 107, BWV 131
[C-3] (1987): BWV 198 [1^st recording], BWV 78
BWV 225-230 [1^st], BWV 232 [1^st], BWV 243, BWV 244 [1^st, Evangelist], BWV 245 [1^st, Evangelist], BWV 248 [1^st]

Helmuth Rilling

Tenor

BWV 232

Links to other Sites

Opera Lafayette: Howard Crook
Howard Crook, Biography, Discography (Goldberg)
Howard Crook (Classical Music Academies) [French]