American bass RAYMOND ACETO has established an important presence among the world's leading opera companies and symphony orchestras. His performances continue to gather both popular and critical acclaim. Of his performance as Leporello, The Washington Times wrote, "Raymond Aceto was the first voice heard and will certainly be the last forgotten ... his booming bass gave immense musical pleasure."

Mr. Aceto begins the 2000/2001 season with his return to Seattle Opera for performances as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. He then travels to Texas where he appears as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Fafner in Siegfried for Dallas Opera. He returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago for further performances of Basilio before he is seen again by New York audiences as Titurel in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Parsifal, opposite Plácido Domingo and under the direction of James Levine. Mr. Aceto finishes his season with a return to San Francisco Opera as the King in Aida and Pietro in Simon Boccanegra.

During the 1999/2000 season, Raymond Aceto returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago for the role of Pistola in their season-opening production of Falstaff, opposite Bryn Terfel, and as Banquo in Macbeth. Mr. Aceto then returned to the Canadian Opera Company for performances of Daland in Der fliegende Holländer and to Baltimore Opera for Colline in La bohème. The bass returned to his home in Cleveland for performances as Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles with Cleveland Opera, and he finished the season with his first performances at the Santa Fe Opera as Sparafucile in Rigoletto.

Mr. Aceto is well-known at leading opera houses throughout North America. His debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago was as the High Priest in Nabucco, and he has since appeared as Nourabad and Alaska Wolf Joe in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Mr. Aceto made his debut with San Francisco Opera as Monterone in Rigoletto, and he later repeated performances in Rigoletto, first as Monterone in his debut with the Netherlands Opera and then as Sparafucile for his debut with L'Opéra de Montréal. The bass' debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia was as the King in Aida, and he returned as Raimondo in their production of Lucia di Lammermoor. His first performances of Rocco in Fidelio were with the Canadian Opera Company, and he returned for performances in the world premiere of Randolph Peter's The Golden Ass. His debut with Seattle Opera was as the Badger and Priest in The Cunning Little Vixen, and he made his first appearance with Baltimore Opera as Ferrando in Il Trovatore. He was seen at the Spoleto (USA) Festival in the roles of Würfl/Caroskvouci/Town Councillor in the U.S. premiere of Janácek's The Excursions of Mr. Broucek and returned the following season for performances of the Foreman and Mayor in Jenufa. Mr. Aceto made his Cincinnati Opera and Opera Delaware debuts as Ramfis in Aida, and he first appeared with Kentucky Opera as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni. Raymond Aceto has appeared frequently with Dallas Opera in roles including Fasolt in Das Rheingold, Basilio, Colline, and Monterone as well as in productions of Roméo et Juliette and Madama Butterfly. Mr. Aceto sang his first performances of Frère Laurent in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette with Cleveland Opera, and he performed the role of Lieutenant Ratcliff in a new Colin Graham production of Billy Budd with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. His debut with Boston Lyric Opera was as Giorgio in I Puritani, and Mr. Aceto was seen with Toledo Opera in his first performances of the King in Aida. The bass gave his first performances as Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust with Piedmont Opera. In 1996 he traveled to Japan for performances and a recording of The Rake's Progress, Seiji Ozawa conducting. Mr. Aceto recently recorded the role of Capellio in Teldec's recording of I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

Raymond Aceto is also in demand for concerts with orchestra. Mr. Aceto appeared with the San Francisco Symphony in Mahler's Symphony No. 8 led by Michael Tilson Thomas, and he returned for performances of Stravinsky's Pulcinella and Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges. In 1997 he appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven's Mass in C Major led by Leonard Slatkin, and he performed the role of Zuniga in Carmen in concert performances with the Cleveland Orchestra as well as the St. Louis Symphony. In 1996 he was the featured bass soloist with the Festival International de Lanaudière for a televised performance of scenes from Faust, Mefistofele and La damnation de Faust. Mr. Aceto was also heard as bass soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Toronto. He made his Alice Tully Hall debut in a concert performance of Balthazar in La Favorite with L'Opéra Français de New York and his Carnegie Hall debut as Andrea Cornaro in Caterina Cornara with the Opera Orchestra of New York.

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist's Development Program, the Ohio-born bass has appeared frequently with the company since his debut as the Jailer in Tosca during the 1992/993 season. His appearances there include the roles of the King in Aida, Mandarin in Turandot, the Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Acciano in the new production of I Lombardi, and the Jailer in Les Dialogues des Carmélites. In 1995 and 1996 Mr. Aceto was awarded Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grants, and in 1994 he was a recipient of a Sullivan Foundation Award.

While still a student at Bowling Green State University, Raymond Aceto made appearances with the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Toledo Opera, the Lyric Opera of Cleveland, and the National Opera Company of Raleigh. In the summer of 1991, he was invited to join the Wolf Trap Opera and to sing performances of Il matrimonio segreto and Le nozze di Figaro. His success resulted in an invitation to return the following summer for his first performances of Leporello in Don Giovanni and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte.