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, Mr. Watson became a member of the esteemed ensemble of Deutsche Oper Berlin where he has performed a multitude of roles including Ismaele in Nabucco, Grigory 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 Fledermaus, the title role in Les contes d’Hoffman, Grigory 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 with San Diego Opera, Opera Orchestre National Montpellier and Fort Worth Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca with Washington National Opera, and the Drum Major in Wozzeck with Des Moines Metro Opera. The 2021-22 season begins with his Metropolitan Opera debut as Moser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, his return to Deutsche Oper Berlin as Don Carlo, to Opéra National de Montpellier as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos and to Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Cavaradossi. Additionally, Watson makes his house and role debut at Opernhaus Zürich opera as Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana. Mr. Watson has appeared in concert as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony, and in Verdi's Requiem with the Florence Masterwork's Choral Society. He has performed in recital at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Mr. Watson was a two-time Filene Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera where he sang Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with the National Symphony Orchestra, Begearss in Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, and the titular character in Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot. He is an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, the Opera Santa Barbara Studio, the Palm Beach Opera Benenson Young Artist Program, and the Dolora Zajick Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. Mr. Watson has been awarded prizes in the Opera Index, Gerda Lissner, and Irene Dalis competitions. He is a two-time recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation and a Catherine Filene Shouse Education Career Grant and is a two-time Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions regional finalist. A native of Kansas City, he attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is a graduate of Oklahoma City University’s Bass School of Music.