All Blog Posts (10)

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Just booked a commercial, music video, sitcom pilot (10 episodes) and a lead in a film in NE Texas. PLEASE help promote me and view my website www.markedwardhowell.com Thanks to all my family and friends for their wonderful support and GOD for giving me such a great and fun talent. LOL PEACE. Continue

OK, once again I proved to myself what an old softie I am. I mean, really, bursting into tears at the end of Cenerentola (Rossini's take on the Cinderella story), but I have to tell you, if you miss this, you'll be missing the production, if not the performance of a lifetime. Yesterday, on Sunday the 18th, we had what we call the final show run through in the rehearsal room. That means putting it together one final time before moving into Bass Hall. In the room run, there are no sets or costume… Continue

I admit I am new to Facebook and social networking. I admit I use it mostly to play Word Twist - a new off work passion of mine. I also have liked reconnecting with people that I have lost contact with. Recently, I reconnected with a high school friend named Vana. In the few months of communication, she visited the FWO website and just wrote this on my wall: "Just watched your interview on Good Morning Texas. Pretty Good! I have been listening to the music on the Ft Worth Opera website and it i… Continue

Wow – here we are at the beginning of rehearsals for our third Fort Worth Opera Festival and so many things have happened surrounding it. Opera, it seems, is cool and the FWO Festival is being featured in many different ways. First, a couple of weeks ago, we were approached by a television production company. They are Abernethy Media Professionals and they have had successful documentaries and programs on television. They spoke to us about doing a “behind the scenes” look at putting an opera to… Continue

I'm back to NYC on Monday this time for several events, and I promise I will blog along each day that I'm there. The first order of business is to be interviewed by Opera News for an article in the July magazine. I am extremely humbled and yet, very excited by this. The Fort Worth Opera is being recognized by our national magazine for the work we do is very, very exciting. Then on Monday, I'll be going to the CD release of Joyce Di Donato's EMI recording called "Furore". It should be an exciting… Continue

Today is the annual Rotary “Holiday Harmonies” where we Rotarians (yes, I belong to Rotary) dress up in our holiday finery and sing fractured Christmas Songs. This one promises to be the best yet, with such great hit tunes as “Oh, There’s No Place Like Nome for the Holidays”, “Barakin around the Christmas Tree” and “We Three Chief from Detroit Are”. There are many more. The finale is an appearance of “Elvis” which is done by yours truly. I will don a wig, sunglasses and sing “I’ll Get a Blue Nam… Continue

Most people think being in NYC in the cool of early winter is all about fun, but at FWO this time of year, it is work! Keith and I just arrived today at 4:00 and by 5:30 - I was at the Opera America offices to participate in a panel on career transitions. In addition to me, we had Metropolitan Opera star, Jane Bunnell who is transitioning to teaching and Ana Arculetta who was a singer and is now a successful artist manager. Jane and I go back 25 years to singing in Omaha and Sarasota. I hadn't s… Continue

BEFORE NIGHT FALLS TO BECOME AN OPERA FORT WORTH – Fort Worth Opera announces that it will produce a world premiere opera as part of its 2010 Festival. The opera, Before Night Falls, is by Jorge Martín, a Cuban-American composer relatively new to the operatic stage; Before Night Falls will be his first major world premiere. The opera is based on the memoir of the same title by Reinaldo Arenas, a Cuban poet, novelist and playwright who was an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro’s regime. In… Continue

I love new American works as everyone knows. About four or five years ago, I read a review in the New York Times about a workshop of the first act of a new opera based on the novel and movie "Before Night Falls". As I had really liked the book, I decided to contact a few people about it. After much back and forth, I finally met the composer, Jorge Martin, and agreed to do a full workshop on stage at the Seagle Music Colony this past August. We used some of the artists from the Seagle Colony and… Continue