Mark Rucker

Master Voice Teacher

From the time of his debut as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera with Luciano Pavarotti for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the American baritone has been in demand in opera houses and on concert stages throughout the world. His return to the Wiener Staatsoper in the role of Stankar in Stiffelio resulted in “Cheers of Jubilation”… Wiener Zeitung.

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 and continues to be part of the Met roster.

He sang the major baritone roles in Rigoletto,  Macbeth,  Nabucco,  Un Ballo  in Maschera, La Traviata, Stiffelio, II Trovatore,  Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci, Samson et Dalila and Die Fliegende

Hollander for companies such as: Arena di Verona, Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Teatro Comunale, Bologna,Netherlands Opera, Greek National Opera, Opera de Wallonie, Bregenz, Savonlinna, Santander, Michigan Opera Theater, Florida Grand, L'Opera Montreal and numerous other companies. He has worked with celebrated Maestri, including, Richard Bonynge, Riccardo Chailly, Fabio Luisi, Daniele Gatti, Carlo Rizzi, Gianandrea Noseda, Bruno Campanella and Paolo Arrivabeni.

Mark made his Carnegie Hall debut to great acclaim as Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino. His other concert credits include Linda di Chamounix and Jerusalem with the Concertgebouw, Rigoletto with the Israel and Rotterdam Philharmonics. Recently performances include Jack Rance in La Fanciulla del West for Opera Colorado, Macbeth for Opera Tampa, Belshazzar's Feast for the Flint Symphony, Elijah for MSU, Amonasro in Aida for Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires and Paolo in Simon Boccanegra for Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Traviata for Opera Grand Rapids and Macbeth for Toledo Opera and Opera Carolina. In Spring of 2019 he sang the baritone solo for MSU’s performance of Shostakovich’s Babi Yar.  Recordings include Mark Rucker Sings Lena Mclin's Songs for Voice and Piano; Amonasro in Aida for Naxos and Cambro in Opera Ebony's recording of Fosca by A. Carlos Gomes.

Mr. Rucker serves as professor of voice at MSU's College of Music and is the Administrative/Artistic  Director for the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s Celebrated Young Artist Program, Prelude to Performance since 2005 and Artistic Director since 2015.