©Photo: SIMON PAULY

Derek Welton Elektra © Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Michael Pöhn

©Photo: Wiener Staatsoper GmbH, Michael Pöhn

Derek Welton © Mikel Ponce/Miguel Lorenzo

©Photo: Mikel Ponce/Miguel Lorenzo

©Photo: SIMON PAULY

1333_Chicago Lyric 2018 Cendrillon5 © Todd Rosenberg

©Photo: Todd Rosenberg

©Photo: SIMON PAULY

©Photo: Monika Rittershaus

©Photo: Jeff Busby

Derek Welton

Bass-baritone

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“Derek Welton was in insolently gorgeous voice as Wotan, taking the long phrase ‘In des Morgens Scheine mutig erschimmernd lag sie herrenlos’ in one breath, and relishing the high tessitura throughout.”
(Opera, September 2021)

Australian-born bass-baritone Derek Welton is active on the world’s opera and concert stages performing a repertoire ranging from the baroque to the present day. Recognised as one of the leading voices of his generation, Welton’s versatility allows him to be equally at home in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex with Berliner Philharmoniker with Kirill Petrenko as he is in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Pablo Heras-Casado, as Orest in Strauss’ Elektra at the Salzburg Festival with Franz Welser-Möst or as Wotan in Wagner’s Das Rheingold at Deutsche Oper Berlin under the direction of Donald Runnicles.

Derek Welton has appeared at some of the world’s foremost opera companies and Festivals including Semperoper Dresden (Lohengrin with Christian Thielemann), Opéra de Paris (Reimann’s Lear with Fabio Luisi), Bayerische Staatsoper (Parsifal with Kirill Petrenko), Lyric Opera of Chicago (Cendrillon with Andrew Davis), Wiener Staatsoper (Parsifal with Welser-Möst), Glyndebourne Opera (Le Nozze di Figaro with Ilyich Rivas), Royal Opera House Covent Garden (Lohengrin with Jakob Hrůša), at Dutch National Opera (Der Zwerg with Lorenzo Viotti), the Bayreuth Festival (Parsifal with Semyon Bychkov), Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (Elektra with Marc Albrecht) and at Staatsoper Hamburg (Der Meister und Margarita with Marcus Bosch). As a former member of Deutsche Oper Berlin, Welton portrayed a broad range of further roles including Father (Hänsel und Gretel), Forester (The Cunning Little Vixen), Prus (The Makropulos Case), Saint-Bris (Les Huguenots) and Der Pförtner (Das Wunder der Heliane).

The 2022/23 season includes débuts at Opéra National du Rhin as Der König in Schreker’s Der Schatzgräber with Marko Letonja, and at Opéra de Lyon as Pangloss in Bernstein’s Candide with Wayne Marshall alongside returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin in Das Wunder der Heliane with Marc Albrecht, the Vienna State Opera as Klingsor with Philippe Jordan, the Victorian Opera as Orest with Richard Mills and to the Bayreuth Festival for his first staged performances as Amfortas/Parsifal with Pablo Heras-Casado. In concert performance, Derek Welton adds several new roles to his repertoire: König Marke/Tristan und Isolde with Düsseldorfer Symphoniker/Adam Fischer, Der Wanderer/Siegfried with Sinfonieorchester Basel/Mark Elder and Wotan in excerpts of Die Walküre with l’Orchestre National de Lille/Hartmut Haenchen.

An accomplished concert artist, Welton has performed with many leading orchestras including with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Manfred Honeck) in Martinů’s The Epic of Gilgamesh, Hallé Orchestra (Christian Curnyn) in Handel’s Messiah, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Stefan Asbury) in Tippett’s A Child of our Time, BBC Philharmonic at the BBC Proms (Juanjo Mena) in Bruckner’s Mass in F, Malmö Symphony Orchestra (Robert Treviño) in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, and with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Stephen Layton) in Bach’s St John Passion. In opera in concert performances, he has sung the title role of Bluebeard’s Castle at the George Enescu Festival (Christian Mandeal), Don Pizarro/Fidelio with Hallé Orchestra (Elder) and Wotan in historically informed performances of Das Rheingold with Concerto Köln and Kent Nagano at Kölner Philharmonie and the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

Derek Welton’s discography includes performances as Wotan/Das Rheingold (Naxos), Orest/Elektra (Unitel Edition), Der Pförtner/Das Wunder der Heliane (Naxos), Heerrufer/Lohengrin (Deutsche Grammophon), Creonte/Haydn’s L’anima del filosofo (Pinchgut Live), in the title role of Martinů’s The Epic of Gilgamesh (Supraphon Records), two recordings as soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 (Ondine and Brattle Media) and a solo CD of Vaughan Williams songs with Iain Burnside for Albion Records.

Das Rheingold - Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge © Deutsche Oper Berlin

Wagner - Das Rheingold - Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge full (start 1m11s) © DOB

Korngold: Das Wunder der Heliane © Naxos

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, Op. 125 Choral IV. An die Freude © Brattle Media

Handel: Messiah (excerpt)

“Derek Welton as his nemesis Klingsor, was perfectly cast, obviously relishing the part and using his rich voice with precision.”

(Bachtrack, June 2022)

“Derek Welton imposes himself as a herald on a par with the other Wagnerian bass-baritone voices ( Klingsor , Donner , Wotan ), delivering impeccable lines that are sustained, present, powerful and projected.”

(Olyrix April 2022)

“The good people of Brabant do indeed greet Henry the Fowler enthusiastically, but they’re being “encouraged” to do so by a bunch of rifle-toting soldiers and Derek Welton’s Herald is imposing and stentorian, but cuts a disturbingly malign figure.”

(Bachtrack April 2022)

“The cast is excellent. Derek Welton sounds so fresh and sings with such warm intelligence and refinement that you think, ‘This opera is really about Wotan!’ ”

(Shirley Apthorp, November 2021)

“…Derek Welton’s Wotan. The Australian bass-baritone sang the young god with fresh vigour and vitality. His gently powerful and darkly lacquered voice tempered nobility with arrogance.”

(Opera News, September 2021)

“All the smaller roles were well taken and characterful, particularly the resonant bass of Derek Welton as Creon and the messenger.”

(Chris Garlick, BachTrack, 14 February 2021)

“Orest, a firm-voiced Derek Welton, singing with incisive diction.”

(Derek Welton, October 2020)

“The Australian bass-baritone Derek Welton also proves to be an absolute win, portraying an incisive, intense Orest with his beautiful timbre.”

(Peter Jarolin, Kurier, 9 September 2020)

“Derek Welton, who first sang the young Wotan at the last outing of the Götz Friedrich Ring three years ago, has grown into a highly distinguished exponent of the role”

(Opera Magazine, August 2020)

Derek Welton has the ideal nobility of voice at his command for the father of the gods, as well as the ability to impress thrillingly at the right moment.’

(U. Ehrensberger, Das Opernglas, July-August 2020)

‘Derek Welton’s Wotan acquitted himself with a powerfully and supremely unfurling, grandly flowing voice’.

(Gerald Felber, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15 June 2020)

‘At [the head of the cast] was the magnificent Wotan of Derek Welton. He’s an imposing, authoritative presence on stage and unfurled apparently endless smooth, rich tone with a properly noble and heroic ring to it – he stepped in during the last run of Götz Friedrich’s Ring, and when he finally appears in Herheim’s production, he’s likely to be quite something.’

(Hugo Shirley, Bachtrack, 13 June 2020)

“Orest … was sung by the Australian bass-baritone Derek Welton, whose attractive dark timbre fulfilled this heroic and lyrical music … Welton sang with extreme beauty and style, creating a noble character.”

(Mauricio Villa, Opera Wire, 22 January 2020)

“Excellent interpretation and vocal performance from Derek Welton as Herzog von Albany.”

(CONNESSI ALL'OPERA, May 2019)

“… with Derek Welton’s Cardinal Orvieto showing off his deep sonorous bass”

(BACHTRACK, April 2019)

“As Cendrillon’s wife-weary father, Derek Welton was impressive. His resonant bass-baritone supported the well-shaped lines with ease. The confidence Welton gave to the high passages stood out, along with this clarity in his lower register. In Act III, Welton approached the scene with Cendrillon with the intimacy some would associate with Verdi’s famous father-daughter exchanges.”

(SEEN AND HEARD, December 2018)

“… his consolation scene with Cinderella, when all seemed headed for the worst possible end for them both, was stunning in its deep expression of father-daughter love.”

(CHICAGO SUN TIMES, December 2018)

“Perhaps the greatest revelation was Derek Welton’s dark, resonant singing and powerful physical presence as Klingsor. Clearly this young, British-trained Australian is destined for a big Wagnerian career”

(Hugh Canning, Opera, October 2018)

“The Jailer was compassionately sung by Derek Welton”

(Opera Magazine, October 2018)

“Derek Welton shows that Klingsor’s hatred of the Grail World is above all self-loathing. With his comprehension of the text and his vocal sound, he presents himself as one of the best Klingsor performers of recent times.”

(BR Klassik, August 2018)

“Expelled from the order for impure desires, Klingsor’s domain is an Islamic hall where he keeps a secret stash of crosses above, perhaps trophies for every knight Kundry has seduced. At the very least, it’s a room of penitential flagellation and a treat to see robust Australian bass Derek Welton in a brilliant Bayreuth debut, mining the villainy of his character in acting and voice while projecting the text with meaning and expression.”

(Limelight, August 2018)

“[impersonating] the unholy trio of Anabaptists with a fine feeling for their grotesque elements, [Derek Welton dispatched] Zacharie’s couplets with great verve.”

(Opera Magazine, March 2018)

“Baritone brilliance. Derek Welton gives a stand out turn singing Martinu.”

(BBC Music Magazine, January 2018)

“The young Wotan was sung by the ensemble member Derek Welton, who scored a personal triumph, crowned by a most lyrical ‘Abendlich strahlt’.”

(Opera Magazine, July 2017)

“The new Klingsor of the powerful-voiced Derek Welton stands out from the cast.”

(Bayerischer Rundfunk Klassik, July 2017)

“The part of Klingsor is often more characterised than sung; Derek Welton sings it fully and on top of that is convincing in characterisation.”

(Neue Musikzeitung, July 2017)

“Derek Welton made a terrific demonic entrance as Klingsor. With shaved head, black beard and a similarly coloured voice”

(Mittelbayerische Zeitung, July 2017)

“In contrast, Derek Welton sounds full-bodied and youthfully fresh.”

(Die Presse, July 2017)

“With striking timbre and strong stage presence, Derek Welton is a splendidly disingenuous Klingsor.”

(Münchner Merkur, July 2017)

“Derek Welton gave the murderous St Bris appropriately lugubrious tones.”

(Opera Magazine, February 2017)

“Similarly impressive, the Australian baritone Derek Welton in the role of Saint-Bris, absorbed in the ecstasy of his barbarism”

(Opernwelt, January 2016)

“Derek Welton provides contrast with his broad bass-baritone as a dark Comte de Saint-Bris.”

(Die Presse, November 2016)

“Derek Welton sang a beautiful-sounding Heerrufer…[and] was on par with the rest of the star cast.”

(Der Neue Merker, May 2016)

“Derek Welton’s Heerrufer demonstrated impressive stage and vocal presence across the three acts, with intelligently declaimed text and a certain ease across his vocal range.”

(Altamusica, May 2016)

“Derek Welton was a convincing Heerrufer with an attractive Heldenbaritone timbre and striking declamations.”

(Opernnetz, May 2016)

“Derek Welton was an impressive complement to the cast as Heerrufer and impressed with a deep understanding of the text and a beautiful timbre.”

(Online Musik Magazin, May 2016)

“Deutsche Oper Berlin came up with a very good ensemble performance: Derek Welton as passionately potent, big-voiced Jaroslav Prus and also vocally a genuine opponent of Marty.”

(Opernglas, April 2016)