Lillian Watson

Fresh, bright, sparkling, silvery—reviews of Lillian Watson return again and again to the same adjectives. Born in London in 1947, the British opera singer is synonymous with a certain kind of lighter soprano role: Mozart’s Zerlina and Despina (later Blonde and Susanna), Beethoven’s Marzelline, Donizetti’s Adina—women who charm, but who also wear the trousers. After training at the Guildhall, Watson established herself with the major UK opera companies, starting her career at Welsh National Opera in 1971 before making important role debuts at Covent Garden, English National Opera, and Glyndebourne. Paris, Salzburg, and Vienna soon followed, and collaborations with conductors including Simon Rattle and Colin Davis. Twentieth-century opera was a rich seam for Watson. She became the Tytania of choice for productions of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was a memorable Sophie in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, and her Vixen glitters and dances through Chandos’ English-language recording of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. Watson has been a professor at the Royal Academy of Music since 2007.