Nicholas Watts trained at the Royal College of Music, and the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, under the tutelage of Margaret Kingsley. Whilst at the RCM, he won the college’s Concerto Prize, for his performance of Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. He was also selected to take part in Les Arts Florissants prestigious Le Jardin des Voix programme in 2007.
Recent highlights have been the title role in Opera North’s critically acclaimed production of Orpheus, a collaborative project with South Asian Arts UK, which was awarded the UK Critic’s Choice Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Opera’ 2022, and the roles of Prologue/Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw, in a live broadcast for OperaVision.
Operatic roles have included: Count Belfiore La Finta Giardiniera (Royal Opera House), Oduardo Ariodante, Lucano The Coronation of Poppea (English National Opera), Oronte L’incoronazione di Dario - Vivaldi, Eustazio Armida (Garsington Opera), Pisandrus Il ritorno d’Ulisses (Birmingham Opera Company), Acis Acis and Galatea (Early Opera Company), Ferrando Cosi fan tutte (Longborough Festival Opera and Opera North), La Gloire The Indian Queen - Purcell (Les Arts Florissants), Liberto L’incoronazione di Poppea, Scaramuccio Ariadne auf Naxos (Theater an der Wien), Albert Albert Herring (Opera North/Birgitta Festival), Sailor Dido and Aeneas, Vasek The Bartered Bride, Don Curzio The Marriage of Figaro, Count Almaviva The Barber of Seville, Pong Turandot, Jack Into the Woods, The Defendant Trial by Jury, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Camille de Rosillon The Merry Widow, Prologue/Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw, Tamino The Magic Flute (Opera North).
Nicholas also enjoys a varied concert career, performing with orchestras and choirs throughout the UK and Europe, including Halle Orchestra (with Sir Mark Elder), Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists, London Handel Orchestra, Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, and Black Dyke Band.
Recent highlights have been the title role in Opera North’s critically acclaimed production of Orpheus, a collaborative project with South Asian Arts UK, which was awarded the UK Critic’s Choice Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Opera’ 2022, and the roles of Prologue/Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw, in a live broadcast for OperaVision.
Operatic roles have included: Count Belfiore La Finta Giardiniera (Royal Opera House), Oduardo Ariodante, Lucano The Coronation of Poppea (English National Opera), Oronte L’incoronazione di Dario - Vivaldi, Eustazio Armida (Garsington Opera), Pisandrus Il ritorno d’Ulisses (Birmingham Opera Company), Acis Acis and Galatea (Early Opera Company), Ferrando Cosi fan tutte (Longborough Festival Opera and Opera North), La Gloire The Indian Queen - Purcell (Les Arts Florissants), Liberto L’incoronazione di Poppea, Scaramuccio Ariadne auf Naxos (Theater an der Wien), Albert Albert Herring (Opera North/Birgitta Festival), Sailor Dido and Aeneas, Vasek The Bartered Bride, Don Curzio The Marriage of Figaro, Count Almaviva The Barber of Seville, Pong Turandot, Jack Into the Woods, The Defendant Trial by Jury, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Camille de Rosillon The Merry Widow, Prologue/Peter Quint The Turn of the Screw, Tamino The Magic Flute (Opera North).
Nicholas also enjoys a varied concert career, performing with orchestras and choirs throughout the UK and Europe, including Halle Orchestra (with Sir Mark Elder), Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists, London Handel Orchestra, Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, and Black Dyke Band.