Today we’d like to introduce you to Antonio Watts.
Hi Antonio, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I really thought I was going to be an orchestral conductor for the Boston Pops or BBC Proms. When I started on saxophone and quickly developed technical dexterity with the woodwind instruments, and it was clear I excelled at oboe/English Horn, I knew I wanted a professional career in music. Things changed slightly when I found my chorus teachers mobile phone, abandoned in the parking lot, after a marching band rehearsal. She was so delighted to have it returned that she took me to see my first Opera. I was profoundly impressed by the acoustic resonance that is the human voice. She arranged for me to explore my interest providing free voice lessons with her friend in the cast. I learned a number of songs in time to audition for conservatories as an oboist and as a singer. There came the time, I had to accept the scholarship to sing because I didn’t have an oboe to accept the scholarship to play. Little details like that have helped me to find my way inside of “getting started” before I made my big move to New York City in August of 2014.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I never had enough money. I had to resign to living within (usually far below) any means. Jobs were hard to come by and for awhile I never turned down a job – as long as it was legal. When I used to sing in the subway, I felt that was a real low point. But even when I “made it” singing at The Metropolitan Opera House and at The Hollywood Bowl with Kanye West, I realized that in many ways, one has to adapt to the harsh blows at both ends of the spectrum – and in this business, they come left, right, and below the belt. I’ve learned that sometimes people will back you up. But mostly, folks resent it when someone stands in their own integrity; especially when it isn’t popular or trending. I’ve also learned that not everybody is going to like you anyway; so if you can look yourself in the mirror every morning and have a pure heart and posture before God, that is what is most important.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
If I’m known at all, people tell me that I have a particular way with delivering the text. And as far as I know, when I’m singing in an Opera, a musical, a concert, or be it covering popular songs from Great American songbook in a cabaret show of sorts, I always deeply commit to expressing the texts the very best that I can. Of course, interpretation changes according to circumstances and vocal practicalities, but I feel very strongly in trusting the text with my feelings, inside – relating them appropriately to that audience. I think that’s what captivates people when we sing. It gives them an outlet for processing their own feelings and therefore a public access to escape, through entertainment. I think what sets me apart from others is knowing that this kind of sympathy is my business.
How do you define success?
I’m not sure that success isn’t an illusion. It seems to me a bit like fame. If my being enough is redefined by someone else’s opinion, then ‘success’ is like the wind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://AntonioWatts.com
- Instagram: @singerantoniowatts
- Email: antonio.watts.singer@gmail.com
