Hailed by Opera News for his “solid, ringing tones” and The Dallas Morning News for his “well-wrought tenor, with baritonal richness in the lower register and a fine blaze on top,” American tenor Robert Watson made his professional debut with San Francisco Opera in 2012 as a Noble in Wagner’s Lohengrin. The following season, he returned to SFO to create the role of Henry Cox in the world premiere of Picker’s Dolores Claiborne.

In 2016, Robert Watson became a member of the esteemed ensemble of Deutsche Oper Berlin where he has performed a multitude of roles including Ismaele in Nabucco, Grigori in Boris Godunov, Bois-Rose in Les Huguenots, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, and the messenger in Aïda. Recent seasons saw him as a soloist for Verdi’s Requiem, Alfred in Die Federmaus, the title role in Les contes d’Hoffman, Grigorij in Boris Godunov, Don José in Carmen, Narraboth in Salome, and Laca in Jenufa, all with Deutsche Oper Berlin. In addition, he made debuts as the Prince in Rusalka and Gabriele Ardorno in Simon Boccanegra with Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Don José Carmen with San Diego Opera, Opera Orchestre National Montpellier and Fort Worth Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca with Washington National Opera, the Drum Major in Wozzeck with Des Moines Metro Opera. In 2020-21 Mr. Watson returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin to sing Don Jose in Carmen, Ismaele in Nabucco and the title role in Verdi’s Don Carlo and he debuts Canio in I Pagliacci at Palm Beach opera.

The 2021-22 season started with his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, he returned to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for his role debut as Don Carlo and was followed by his very successful house- and role debut at Zurich opera as Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and as Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at Opéra National Montpellier.

In the upcoming season, he makes his debut as Siegmund in Dmitri Tcherniakov’s new production of Die Walküre at the Berlin State Opera under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. At the Deutsche Oper Berlin, his upcoming season includes his role debut as Florestan Fidelio under the baton of Sir Donald Runnicles.

Robert Watson has won numerous singing competitions, including the Campbell/Santeramo Award at the Opera Index Competition 2015, third prize at the Gerda Lissner Competition 2016, as well as second prize at the Irene Dalis Award 2014. He was a two-time Richard F. Gold scholarship holder of the Shoshana Foundation, a grantee of the Catherine Filene Shouse Education and two-time finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is a graduate of Oklahoma City University Bass School of Music.