Keel Watson made his Royal Opera début as the Bosun Billy Budd. His international engagements include Fasolt Das Rheingold at the Teatro Nacional di Sao Carlos, Lisbon, Caronte La favola d’Orfeo Opera Zuid, Henry Davis Street Scene in Turin, The Doctor Punch and Judy Casa da Música in Porto, Elder Ott Susannah Opéra de Nantes, Porgy Porgy and Bess TCC Productions, Lisbon, Mephistopheles Faust Anna Livia International Opera Festival, and Achilla Giulio Cesare Opera Ireland.

 

In the UK Keel Watson has sung Caronte La favola d’Orfeo for English National Opera, Mandryka Arabella, Creon Oedipus Rex and the Speaker, Second Armed Man and Second Priest The Magic Flute with Opera North, Don Pizarro Fidelio, First Apprentice Wozzeck, Abbot CurlewRiver, Pluto Il ballo delle ingrate, Neptune Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Commendatore Don Giovanni and Voice of Neptune Idomeneo, all with Birmingham Opera Company, Nourabad Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Tonio I pagliacci, Jorg Stiffelio and Bertrand Iolanta at Opera Holland Park, Junius The Rape of Lucretia for the European Opera Centre, and Dr Bartolo Le Nozze di Figaro and Colline La Bohème with English Touring Opera.

Keel Watson has created a number of roles including The Elder The Country of the Blind by Mark-Anthony Turnage at the Aldeburgh Festival/ENO Contemporary Opera Studio and Parlaine Palace in the Sky by Jonathan Dove for the ENO Baylis Programme. His other roles include Scarpia Tosca, Dr Bartolo Il barbiere di Siviglia, Kunrad Feuersnot, Wotan Das Rheingold, Don Basilio Il barbiere di Siviglia, Leporello Don Giovanni and Zuniga Carmen.

Keel Watson has sung the concert version of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess many times, including his débuts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, at the Royal Albert Hall and London’s Barbican Centre. He made his Queen Elizabeth Hall début in Mike Westbrook’s Coming Through the Slaughter and his début with the London Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano in Bernstein’s White House Cantata, which was also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon.

He made his début at the BBC Proms as the Abbot Curlew River with Birmingham Opera Company. Other major concert engagements include Carmina Burana in the Royal Festival Hall, A Child of our Time with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, at the Worcester Three Choirs Festival and with the The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. His concert repertoire includes Pater Profundis Symphony No. 8 (Mahler), Walton Belshazzar’s Feast, Rossini Stabat Mater, Verdi Requiem and Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony.

Keel Watson performed Second Armed Man in a film of The Magic Flute directed by Kenneth Brannagh. He is the voice of Harasta in Geoff Dunbar’s animated version of The Cunning Little Vixen. He is a regular guest soloist on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night.

Keel Watson’s recent engagements have included Iago Otello for Birmingham Opera Company, The King Aida at Bregenz Festival, Reinmar Tannhäuser at the Greek National Opera, Asantehene and Second Messenger The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi (Jonathan Dove) for Opera OT in Rotterdam and Frazier Porgy and Bess for the Opera National de Lyon. He is currently singing the title role in Don Pasquale for English Touring Opera. Future engagements include Frazier Porgy and Bess at the Opera de Lyon and Zuniga Carmen for Opera North.