A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, baritone William Raskin is a multidisciplinary artist devoted to the art of opera and song.

William began this season as a finalist and recipient of the Patricia Crump Vocal Competition Encouragement Award. This upcoming winter, he will perform the role of Schaunard in scenes from Puccini’s La bohème with the Janesville Choral Union. Following this, he will join Sarasota Opera for their 2025 Winter Opera Festival as an Apprentice Artist. There he will perform in the double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, as well as in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Verdi’s Stiffelio. As an Apprentice Artist, he will also perform in the Welcome Concert, Stars of Tomorrow Concert, and Apprentice at Noon at the Peterson Great Room. Following his time at Sarasota Opera, William joins The Glimmerglass Festival in their exhilarating 50th anniversary season. While there, he will perform in Stravinsky’s The Rake's Progress along with the world premiere of Derek Bermel’s The House on Mango Street. 

During the 2023-24 season, William performed the roles of Giove in Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto and Fabrizio Naccarelli in Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza with the UW-Madison University Opera. Following, William held a Resident Young Artist position with Ohio Light Opera in their 45th festival season. There he performed the role of Giuseppe Palmieri in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers along with Armand Brissard in Franz Lehár’s The Count of Luxembourg. In addition to that, he performed in the chorus of Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls as Harry the Horse, Noel Gay‘s Me and My Girl as Bob Barking, along with Monckton & Talbot’s The Arcadians.

During the 2022-23 season, he performed the role of Sid in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring with the UW-Madison University Opera. In the following semester, William studied abroad in Vienna, Austria, with the IES Abroad Vienna Music Program where he performed the role of Guglielmo in scenes from Mozart’s Così fan tutte under the direction of David Aronson. Following his time abroad, William held a Studio Artist position with Opera in the Ozarks where he performed the role of Grandpa Moss in Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land. In addition to that, he performed in the chorus of Donizetti’s L'elisir d'amore and Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers while alternating the roles of Alidoro, Dandini, and Don Magnifico in the Opera in the Ozarks outreach production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Through this program, he performed at local schools and libraries for children and families throughout Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri. Following his time at Opera in the Ozarks, William performed the role of Mage in Handel’s Rinaldo with Chicago Summer Opera.

For the 2021-2022 season, he performed the role of Young Manfred in Jake Heggie’s Two Remain and in the chorus of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with the UW-Madison University Opera. The following summer, William performed the role of Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Ruddigore with the Madison Savoyards.

In addition to his vocal work, William has performed the roles of Party Father and Russian Corps for three years with the Madison Ballet in their annual production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. William is a classically trained dancer in the disciplines of ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, & modern dance. He takes classes with the UW-Madison Dance Department and prior to that was a studio dancer with The Dance Factory.

William Raskin received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May of 2024.