Described as “the possessor of a major voice” (Opera) and a “magnificent Wotan” (Die Zeit), Australian bass-baritone Derek Welton has emerged as a leading dramatic voice of his generation, as well as a dedicated and versatile interpreter of concert repertoire from Bach and Handel to the present day.
In the 2025/26 season, Welton returns to the Wiener Staatsoper as Orest in Elektra, to the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the title role of Der fliegende Holländer, and to the Opéra de Lyon as Claggart in Billy Budd. He makes his house debut at Opernhaus Zürich as Pizarro in Fidelio, his house and role debut as König Heinrich in Lohengrin at the Hungarian State Opera, and performs Wanderer in Siegfried at the Müpa Festival in Budapest. In addition, he sings König Marke in Tristan und Isolde in concert with the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of Welton’s 2024/25 season included Pizarro Fidelio at Washington National Opera, König Marke Tristan und Isolde, Holländer Der fliegende Holländer and Forester The Cunning Little Vixen at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Wotan Das Rheingold at the Opéra national de Paris.
He is a regular guest at many of the world’s foremost opera houses and festivals, including the Royal Opera and Ballet, Salzburg Festival, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayreuther Festspiele, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opéra national de Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Dutch National Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
His wide-ranging roles include Wotan/Wanderer in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Amfortas Parsifal, Altair Die ägyptische Helena, Father Hänsel und Gretel, Bluebeard Bluebeard’s Castle, Forester The Cunning Little Vixen, Prus The Makropulos Case and Saint-Bris Les Huguenots.
Recent and future concert highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No 8 with the Czech Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, Messiah at the Musikverein Vienna, Bach Magnificat with the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, The Dream of Gerontius with the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Bruckner Mass in F minor with the Wiener Symphoniker, Ein deutsches Requiem at the Rome Opera, and The Epic of Gilgamesh with the Prague Philharmonia. He performs widely with leading ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Academy of Ancient Music.
