 He made his European debut in Angers, France in Handel's "Acis and Galatea" and followed that with the role of Belmonte in Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio" with the Welsh National Opera.In 1977, his youthful promise was recognized when he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the WGN Competition, and was awarded both Rockefeller Foundation and National Opera Institute grants.As his career unfolded, he went on to sing leading roles in many major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris and Paris Opera-Bastille, Teatro alla Scala, and the theatres in Berlin, Vienna, and Hamburg.