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 god, the mysterious, proud master of Valhalla appeared on stage. A charismatic presence and noble, powerful singing, endowed with a rich timbre, unfurled in sumptuous colours’.

The performance will be broadcast on Radio France on 15 March 2025 at 20:00 CET.

The ‘jump-in’ took place during a busy winter for Welton, with performances as the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen in December and January at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as his début at the Vienna Musikverein in December singing Handel’s Messiah, acclaimed by Ôlyrix as revealing ‘a timbre as rich as his record’: ’a deeply rich voice, with noble sonority and an obvious technical mastery that enables him to cover a very wide spectrum of nuances.’

In January, Derek Welton made his role début as King Marke in Tristan und Isolde and this month, his début in the title role of The Flying Dutchman, both at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Photograph © Street Navigator Photography