Richard Watson (bass)
[1] He made his London stage debut in a one-off charity matinée performance of a musical fantasy called The Ladder at Daly's Theatre in June 1927, in a cast led by Maggie Teyte.
[2] He engaged Watson to appear in 1928 in a company including Astra Desmond, Roy Henderson and Steuart Wilson, performing in a season of operas at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in Così fan tutte, Master Peter's Puppet Show, The Secret Marriage, and Vaughan Williams's new opera, The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains.
[10] After the international season, Watson again joined the touring company, performing in a range of operas, including Turandot, Rigoletto, Aida and Tosca, which were relayed by the BBC.
[11] In 1932, he sang in Sir Thomas Beecham's Wagner festival at Covent Garden, in a company headed by Lotte Lehmann, Frida Leider, Lauritz Melchior and Friedrich Schorr.
He sang in Elgar's The Apostles, in Worcester Cathedral under Sir Ivor Atkins,[13] Schubert's Mass in A-flat under Adrian Boult with the Bach Choir,[14] Handel's Judas Maccabaeus,[15] and the Verdi Requiem.
His roles were Private Willis in Iolanthe and King Hildebrand in Princess Ida, which he took over from the company's veteran bass-baritone Sydney Granville, and the Lieutenant of the Tower in The Yeomen of the Guard, previously played by Leslie Rands.
[18] In June 1934, Watson left D'Oyly Carte to rejoin the Carl Rosa company, touring for six months in a range of operas including Wagner's Tannhäuser.
[2] Watson played Bouncer in Cox and Box,[23] the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury,[24] the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance,[25] Colonel Calverley in Patience,[26] Pooh-Bah in The Mikado,[27] Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore,[28] Shadbolt in The Yeomen of the Guard,[29] and Don Alhambra in The Gondoliers.
His roles were Bouncer, Private Willis (both shared with Richard Walker), the Learned Judge, Captain Corcoran in Pinafore, Pooh-Bah, the Lieutenant, and Don Alhambra.
[39] The choice was highly unpopular among the actors and contributed to a wave of defections, including the company's principal comedian, Martyn Green.
[43] After this, Watson returned to teaching at the Elder Conservatorium in his native Adelaide and lead the Gilbert & Sullivan Society South Australia.
He took part in recordings of duets and ensemble numbers from operas by Verdi, Puccini and Gounod; and, with Steuart Wilson and the pianist Gerald Moore and others, Brahms's Liebeslieder-Walzer.
[47] Watson's second engagement with D'Oyly Carte coincided with an intensive period of recording by Decca of the main works of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon.
