His operatic roles include Amonasro in Aida, Scarpia in Tosca, Tonio in Pagliacci, Germont in La Traviata, Figaro in the Barber of Seville and many others.

[1] The Daily Breeze described his musical theatre program with the Torrance Symphony as "warm" and "mellow".

Mercury News writer Richard Scheinin acknowledged Cato as being "charismatic" and having a "warmly rounded voice".

After graduating from Walter Louis Cohen High School, he moved to Los Angeles to study music.

In 1994, he moved to New York, and after several years of traveling and performing abroad, Ralph returned to Los Angeles where he was given the opportunity to teach voice at UCLA while pursuing his doctoral studies.