He made his debut with the City Opera on October 1, 1960, as Schaunard in La bohème, with Chester Ludgin and Norman Treigle in the cast. He went on to perform there the leading baritone roles in The Consul, Le nozze di Figaro, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Lizzie Borden, Carmen, Tosca , Cavalleria rusticana, Manon, conducted by Julius Rudel, Gianni Schicchi, La traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, L'heure espagnole, Roberto Devereux, La Cenerentola, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Un ballo in maschera, Maria Stuarda, Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, directed by Frank Corsaro, I puritani, Manon Lescaut, Pagliacci, Lucrezia Borgia, Andrea Chénier, Falstaff, and Attila.
Metropolitan Opera
Richard Fredricks made his first appearance with the Met in 1976, when they toured to Wolf Trap Farm Park, as Don Carlo, in La forza del destino, in John Dexter's production. The following year, the baritone was seen at the House in La traviata, with Rita Shane. His in-house debut was as Athanael in Thaïs, followed by Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Barnaba in “La Gioconda,” the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Escamillio in Carmen, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Ostasio in Francesca da Rimini with Renata Scotto. Fredricks has appeared at most of the major theatres in the Americas, as well as in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Venice, Israel, Brussels, Mexico and numerous performances in Canada. He sang the Count de Luna in ‘Il trovatore”, “Rigoletto” in Toronto and Quebec City, Scarpia in “Tosca” in Winnipeg and the North American premier as Demetrius in “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” by Britten in Vancouver. In 1971, he played himself on ABC’s primetime comedy, "The Odd Couple" starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. In that episode, Fredricks sang selections from La Traviata and Camelot. His recordings include six operettas in “The Treasury of Operetta’s” by RCA Victor, as Top in The Tender Land, Lizzie Borden, and the Duruflé Requiem. He has stage directed La bohème with both the Michigan Opera and the Duluth Opera, as well as singing Lescaut and directing the production of Manon with the Honolulu Opera.
Videography
Beeson: Lizzie Borden VAI
Donizetti: Roberto Devereux VAI
Verdi: La traviata VAI
Massenet: Manon Paramount Pictures
Zandonai: Francesca da Rimini Deutsche Grammophon
He was also on a guest spot on Season 2, Episode 7 of the TV Series, The Odd Couple titled, "Does your mother know you're out?".