A commanding presence on the operatic scene, the bass-baritone Keel Watson, who has died suddenly aged 59, could modulate effortlessly between an imperious Wotan, the ruler of the gods in Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung (Regents Opera), and an amusingly indolent Caterpillar, dressed in shimmering green robes, in Will Todd’s family opera Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Opera Holland Park). In both, his excellent diction, sonorous tone and exceptionally engaging stage presence served him in good stead.
The genial Hans Sachs was another Wagner role that suited him well, but he was also as convincing as a terrifyingly irascible King Philip in Verdi’s Don Carlo as he was a likable Papageno in The Magic Flute. He came to prominence in a series of appearances in the late 1990s, most notably in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s chamber opera The Country of the Blind, in which he played the part of the duly authoritative Elder of the remote, visually challenged Andean community of the title in the staging by ENO Contemporary Opera Studio at the 1997 Aldeburgh festival.
