Bass-baritone Bruno Praticò makes his LA Opera debut as Doctor Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (November 2009).

An acclaimed interpreter of the great buffo roles (with a repertoire of more than 100 roles), Bruno Praticò regularly appears on the stages of the major theaters in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Vienna Staatsoper, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Opéra de Monaco, Opéra National de Paris, the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam, Lausanne Opéra, Japan Opera Foundation and the New National Theater in Tokyo, Teatro De La Maestranza in Seville, Teatro Real Madrid and Grand Théâtre of Geneva.

He has worked with such important conductors as Claudio Abbado, Bruno Campanella, Riccardo Chailly, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Donato Renzetti, Carlo Rizzi and Alberto Zedda.

He is a regular guest of the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, where in 1998, after his appearance as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, he was awarded the prestigious "Rossini d'Oro." His many performances there include Il Viaggio a Reims, La Cenerentola, La Gazzetta, L'Equivoco Stravagante, Le comte Ory and the recent Torvaldo e Dorliska.

A noted performer of Doctor Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, he has sung that role in major theaters around the world, among them the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Arena di Verona, and in Rome, Naples, Baltimore, Monaco, Catania, Munich and Madrid. Other acclaimed interpretations include Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola) at Opéra National de Paris and Munich's Bayerische Staatsoper, Geronimo (Il Matrimonio Segreto) at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées de Paris and Monte Carlo and Dulcamara (L'Elisir d'Amore) at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

In the 2005/06 season, he appeared in Il Viaggio a Reims at the Monnaie in Brussels, Il Signor Bruschino at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Covent Garden in London, at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and at the Teatro São Carlos in Lisbon. His successes during the 2006/07 season included Così fan tutte at Lisbon, La Cenerentola at the Bayerische Staatsoper, La Forza del Destino in Genoa and La Finta Semplice at the Theater an der Wien.

In the 2007/08 season he had great success in the title role of Don Pasquale at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, and in La Fille du Régiment (Sulpice) at Houston Grand Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Bartolo) at the Metropolitan Opera and in Naples, in Pulcinella with the Teatro di Verona Philharmonic, La Cenerentola (Dandini) at the Salle Pleyel in Paris and at Kungliga Teater in Stockholm.

He opened the 2008/09 season with the world premiere of Battistelli's Divorzio all'Italiana with the Opéra de Nancy.

Future appearances include L'Elisir d'Amore at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Il Barbiere di Siviglia at LA Opera, Il Viaggio a Reims at La Scala, Le Nozze di Figaro at the Cincinnati Opera and La Fille du Régiment with San Francisco Opera.

His discography includes Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Bartolo; EMI), L'Elisir d'Amore (Dulcamara; Erato), Il Signor Bruschino and La Cambiale di Matrimonio (Claves), Lakmè, Don Quichotte and Leoncavallo's La Bohème (Nuova Era), L'Italiana in Londra (Bongiovanni and BMG), Donizetti's La Romanziera e l'Uomo Nero (Opera Rara), and a recital with music by Mozart and Rossini (Bongiovanni).

Born in Aosta, he studied with the baritone Giuseppe Valdengo, with subsequent training at the Teatro alla Scala and with Rodolfo Celletti.