Scottish Baritone Alan Watt has Passed Away

Watt’s death was announced by his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Alan Watt trained in Glasgow at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama — now known as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

He went on to join the Scottish Opera and performed in many baritone roles in all the major opera companies in Britain. He also sang abroad in Venice, Vienna, Venice, Brussels, Seville, Berlin, and Tel Aviv, in works by Bach, Rachmaninov, Massenet, Mozart, Puccini, Flowtow, Vaughan Williams, Elgar, and more.

Watt entered the music teaching staff of RCS in 1995, bringing his rich experience to the music profession. There, he taught RCS’s bachelor's and master’s courses, alongside performance classes and the subject of early Italian song. 

In the years before his retirement in September 2019, Watt also taught students at the school’s Junior Conservatoire.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of former vocal tutor Alan Watt,” the RCS wrote on Facebook. “Alan studied at the RSAMD and he was delighted to have been given the opportunity to give back to a new generation of students the kind of solid training and basis for a successful career that he had himself been fortunate to receive as a student.

“Alan was a champion of his students and was always delighted by the successes and attainments they enjoyed in their lives and musical careers,” the post continued. “Alan will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by his wife, Gill, his family and friends and by his former colleagues and students.”

Our condolences to Mr. Watt’s family, friends, students, and colleagues.