[1] Described by John Steane as "a vibrant voice somewhat in the Amato/Franci line",[2] Howlett's repertoire included over 80 roles.
Howlett was born in Mitcham and was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge followed by further studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart.
[1] In 1957, while still at Cambridge, he won the Kathleen Ferrier Award,[3] and in 1964 made his debut in the world premiere performance of Benjamin Britten's Curlew River.
The peak of his career was the seventeen years he spent as principal baritone with the English National Opera, where he created the role of The Mirador in Gordon Crosse's The Story of Vasco (1974) and the title role in David Blake's Toussaint (1977).
Amongst his other roles were Prince Andrei in Prokofiev's War and Peace[4] and Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande.