Professor of Voice Mark Rucker, baritone, manages a robust studio when on campus, but he also maintains an active performance schedule. His latest role took him to London for Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden which ran from November 15 through December 10, 2018.

The opera tells the story of the dashing Boccanegra who is proclaimed Doge (chief magistrate) of Genoa, joyfully rediscovers his daughter twenty-five years after she went missing, but then must contend with a rebellion led by his own advisor, Paolo, who has turned against him. Rucker performed the role of Paolo and covered the title role of Boccanegra.

“Paolo is a devious character which makes him an intriguing role to play,” Rucker said. “As a Verdian singer, I always appreciate the challenges that the composer brings to the singer. His music brings various emotions and vocal demands which give the performer a vast musical and acting pallet.

“This opera’s score is different than many of the other Verdi operas in that there are not really any recognizable ‘tunes’ – for example, La donna è mobile in Rigoletto or Sempre libera in La traviata,” he explained. “The role of Paolo is very complicated and some consider him the precursor of Iago in Verdi’s Otello. The character is not the primary in Simon Boccanegra, but is the catalyst of the entire opera.”

This is the latest in Rucker’s long line of prominent productions on world stages. He has remained in demand since his debut as Renato in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with Luciano Pavarotti for the Opera Company of Philadelphia. In 2018 alone he sang the title role of Verdi’s Macbeth for Opera Tampa, Walton’s Balshazzar's Feast for the Flint Symphony, Verdi’s Amonasro in Aida for Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires – a role he has performed at the Metropolitan Opera as well. He also performed the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the MSU Symphony orchestra, Choral Union, State Singers, University Chorale and the outstanding MSU faculty and Metropolitan Opera Richard Fracker, tenor, and Jane Bunnell, mezzo soprano, and MSU graduate student Anna Montgomery under the baton of the incomparable Maestro David Rayl.

Upcoming performances will include the baritone solo in MSU’s performance of Symphony No. 13 in B-flat minor (Op. 113, “Babi Yar”) by Dimitri Shostakovich at the Wharton Center  on April 27 with a special repeat performance in Orchestra Hall in Detroit on April 28. He will also sing the role of Germont in Opera Grand Rapids production of Verdi’s La Traviata June 14 and 15.

In addition to performing and teaching, Rucker is Administrative and Artistic Director for the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s celebrated Young Artist Program, Prelude to Performance in New York City since 2005.