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 the United States, he has sung with the New York City, Seattle, Houston, Santa Fe, and St. Louis opera companies.
In 1997, he returned to open the season at La Scala as Renaud in Gluck's Armide with Riccardo Muti conducting.
In the 2001 season, he returned to the Met as Alfredo in La traviata opposite the Violetta of June Anderson.
Cole has sung extensively with orchestras throughout his career and has worked with many of the world's leading conductors including Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti (with whom he recorded the Mozart Requiem on the 200th anniversary of the composer's death), Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, Kurt Masur, James Levine, Edo de Waart, Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gerard Schwarz, Andrew Davis, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Claudio Abbado, and Daniel Barenboim.