Lola Watson

Soprano

Although Lola Watson is a nationally published, award winning interior designer; she interrupted her design career in the 1980's and early 1990's to pursue another passion of hers as an opera singer. She continues her interior design profession today and is an active member of ASID, having served on its board chairing public relations and is a past director of Public Relations for Fashion Group International.

Soprano Lola Watson's European debut can be heard in an historic live recording from Warsaw, Poland as Rossane in Handel's ALESSANDRO with Maestro Nowakowski conducting the Sinfonia Varsovia released on the Schwann-Koch label. She made her New York Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart's CORONATION MASS. Particularly known for her title role in THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE, Ms. Watson has appeared as Curley's Wife in the Berkeley Opera production of Floyd's OF MICE AND MEN and was reengaged to sing Marzelline in the original 1805 version of Beethoven's FIDELIO.

Making her West Bay Opera debut as Violetta in LA TRAVIATA she sang Leonora in San Francisco Studio Opera's concert version of IL TROVATORE and added Juliette in Gounod's ROMEO ET JULIETTE with New Jersey State Repertory Opera. During 1984-87 and 1993-95 Ms. Watson sang over forty-seven operas with the San Francisco Opera Company and appeared in the 1990 Academy Awarded documentary film IN THE SHADOW OF THE STARS.

Among her numerous orchestral appearances, she has performed Handel's MESSIAH, Vivaldi's GLORIA, Bach's MAGNIFICAT, both Queen's in Handel's SOLOMON, Argento's SIX ELIZABETHAN SONGS, Bach's KANTATE Nr. 51, Mendelssohn's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Haydn's LITTLE ORGAN MASS, Schubert's OMNIPOTENCE and a dramatized Mendelssohn's ELIJAH with members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Lola Watson continues to sing as a member of the Minnesota Chorale where she has been a frequent soloist in concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra. She was most recently heard at Orchestra Hall in the role of the Mother in a fully staged production of Engelbert Humperdink's HANSEL & GRETEL with the Minnesota Orchestra which she will be repeating November 2009. Lola will appear as the High Priestess in Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest 2009 productions of AIDA. In addition, she lends her talent to such worthy causes as the Alzheimer's Gala, Seeing Hands, Children's Cancer Research Fund / Dare to Dream Benefit, the St. Francis Regional Medical Center / Festival of Trees Benefit, the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus and DIFFA.