Derek Welton

Derek Welton
© Eduardus Lee
Derek Welton
© Eduardus Lee
Derek Welton
© Eduardus Lee

Biography

The Australian-born bass-baritone Derek Welton is recognised as one of the leading voices of his generation, with a repertoire ranging from Bach and Handel to the present day.

 

Following his return to the Bayreuth Festival in 2024 as Amfortas, highlights of Welton’s 2024/2025 season will include Pizarro in Fidelio at Washington National Opera, King Marke in Tristan und Isolde and the title role of The Flying Dutchman at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wotan in Das Rheingold at the Paris Opera, Wanderer in Siegfried with Concerto Köln and the Journalist in Otto Ketting’s Ithaka at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Concerts will include Mahler’s Symphony No 8 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra, a concert of Wagner highlights with the Washington National Opera, Messiah at the Vienna Musikverein, Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem at the Rome Opera, The Dream of Gerontius with the WDR Symphony Orchestra and Bruckner’s Mass in F minor with the Vienna Symphony.

Calendar

Upcoming performances

Ein deutsches Requiem

Michele Mariotti · conductor

 

Carolina López Moreno · soprano
Derek Welton · bass-baritone

 

Chorus of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma

Orchestra of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma

Siegfried

Conductor · Kent Nagano

 

Siegfried · Thomas Blondelle
Mime · Christian Elsner, Thomas Ebenstein
Wanderer · Derek Welton
Alberich · Daniel Schmutzhard
Fafner · Hanno Müller-Brachmann
Erda · Gerhild Romberger

Brünnhilde · Åsa Jäger

Woodbird · NN

 

Locations
State Opera, Prague, Czechia

Philharmonie de Paris, France

Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany

KKL Lucerne, Switzerland

News

Press and updates

Welton praised for short-notice Wotan at the Paris Opera
Derek Welton — Wotan

Derek Welton took over the role of Wotan in Das Rheingold for an ill colleague at short notice on 19 February at the Paris Opera, receiving praise from the public and press for his musical and dramatic portrayal of the role.   Forum Opéra described Derek as a ‘rightly acclaimed Wotan’: ‘And miracle: the sun […]

Successful début in Washington
Derek Welton — Holländer

Derek Welton recently made successful role and house débuts as Pizarro in Fidelio at the Washington National Opera, in a production directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Robert Spano, which had its premiere on 25 October. The following evening, Derek starred in Washington National Opera’s Gods & Mortals concert, featuring excerpts of Wagner’s Ring […]

Mahler 8 in Perth, Australia

Derek returned to Perth, Western Australia in September 2024 to be part of the first performance of Mahler’s Symphony No 8 in the state, performed by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Asher Fisch. It was Derek’s début in the role of Pater Profundus.   The performances were highly praised by the […]

Bayreuth Parsifal released by Deutsche Grammophon: Welton as Amfortas

Deutsche Grammophon’s video and audio recording of Wagner’s Parsifal from the 2023 Bayreuth Festival was released yesterday, 28 June 2024.   Derek Welton features as Amfortas and is joined by Andreas Schager as Parsifal, Elīna Garanča as Kundry, Georg Zeppenfeld as Gurnemanz and Jordan Shanahan as Klingsor.   The recording is available for listening on […]

Audio and video

Featured recording

Wagner Das Rheingold
»Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge«

Play

© Charlie Kinross

Derek Welton
© Eduardus Lee
Privacy Overview
Derek Welton, bass-baritone

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