From the time of his debut as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera with Luciano Pavarotti for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, American baritone Mark Rucker has been in demand in opera houses and on concert stage throughout the world.   Mr. Rucker made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Amonasro in Aida and has since been heard at the Met as Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino, Tonio in I Pagliacci, and as Rigoletto for the Met in the Parks. He made his European debut as Alfio and Tonio for Opera de Nice, and has continued his European career with performances of Alfio at the Wiener Staatsoper, Amonasro for the Staatsoper Unter den Linden with Fabio Luisi and with the Concertgebouw Orkest under the baton of Riccardo Chailly. He made his Italian debut as Rigoletto with Daniele Gatti at the Teatro Comunale, Bologna and his debut at the Arena di Verona as Amonasro.   Recently Mr. Rucker performed a “dramatically convincing, dark-voiced Amonasro”(Opera News) for Opera Carolina’s Aida, Tonio in I Pagliacci for New Orleans Opera and sang his first Dutchman in Der Fliegende Holländer for Royal Opéra de Wallonie, Liège, Belgium. His return to the Wiener Staatsoper in the role of Stankar in Stiffelio resulted in “Cheers of Jubilation”… Wiener Zeitung. Up coming engagements include his return to sing Amonasro for the Royal Opéra de Wallonie’s upcoming production of Verdi's Aida.   Mr. Rucker was heard in Bologna as Macbeth, Nabucco and Grand Prêtre in Samson et Dalila, made his Carnegie Hall debut as Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino, returned to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as both Antonio in Linda di Chamounix and Le Comte de Toulouse in Verdi’s Jerusalem with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra, has been Macbeth in Trieste, Rigoletto with the Israel Philharmonic, Nabucco in Athens, Rigoletto and Amonasro for the Netherlands Opera and Nabucco for Opern Graz, where he previously sang the roles of Germont, Ankerstrom and Stankar. He has also performed Rigoletto, Nabucco, Macbeth and Grand Prêtre in Samson et Dalila for Òpera Royal de Wallonie.   Mr. Rucker’s extensive North American career has taken him from New York City Opera for his debut as Rigoletto, to the San Diego Opera as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, Rigoletto and Amonasro in Aida, to Miami with the Florida Grand Opera as Rigoletto with Maestro Richard Bonynge, Macbeth, Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, Baltimore Opera as Nabucco, L'Opéra de Montréal as Di Luna in Il Trovatore, New Orleans Opera as Rigoletto, Tonio, Scarpia in Tosca, di Luna in Il Trovatore and Tonio in I Pagliacci to Vancouver as Rigoletto and Amonasro, Mexico City as Amonasro and a host of other major North American theaters for the dramatic baritone repertoire.   Mr. Rucker has been heard in the Festivals of Bregenz and Savonlinna as Nabucco and Santander as Grand Prêtre in Samson et Dalila. On the concert stage, he has appeared as guest soloist in Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with the Baltimore Symphony under the baton of Stefan Sanderling, has appeared also as guest soloist with the Detroit Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Los Angeles Civic Orchestra, Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra , San Antonio Symphony and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. His concert repertoire includes Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem and Sea Symphony and Dubois' Seven Last Words of Christ.   Mr. Rucker can also be heard on a new CD, Mark Rucker Sings Lena Mclin Songs For Voice And Piano and Naxos CD of Aida as Amonasro.