Baritone Hansung Yoo is acclaimed for his compelling stage presence, refined vocal artistry, and deep musicality. A graduate of The Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, where he studied under Professor Hans Choi, Yoo continued his vocal training in Germany at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf with Professor Michaela Krämer and later at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Professor Carolyn James, earning both his Master of Opera and the prestigious Performance Diploma (Konzertexamen).

 

After nearly a decade as a valued ensemble member at the Staatstheater Kassel (2013–2022), where he portrayed a wide spectrum of leading baritone roles, Yoo launched his freelance career in the 2022/23 season to further his international reach.

 

He made his critically acclaimed debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde. That same season, he received outstanding reviews for his portrayal of Don Carlo di Vargas in La forza del destino at Saarbrücken Staatstheater, and for his debut as Ping in Turandot at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano.

 

Following this successful debut, Yoo joined the Royal Opera House on their Turandot tour of Japan in 2024 and also served as cover for the title role in Rigoletto. In 2025, he returned to ROH for a successful reprise of Ping in Turandot.

In the 2024 season, Yoo also made his long-awaited debut in his homeland, singing Germont in La Traviata with the Korea National Opera.

 

His future engagements include his much-anticipated house debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he will perform Ping in Turandot during the 2025/26 season.

 

Yoo’s operatic repertoire includes a wide range of roles such as Carlo Gérard (Andrea Chénier), Rigoletto (Rigoletto), Conte di Luna (Il trovatore), Scarpia (Tosca), Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Amfortas (Parsifal), Marcello and Shaunard (La Bohème), Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette), Eugene Onegin (Eugene Onegin), Alfio (Cavalleria rusticana), Tonio (Pagliacci), and Don Carlos di Vargas (La forza del destino), among others. 

 

A laureate of several of the world’s most prestigious competitions, Yoo was a finalist in the 2014 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and won 3rd Prize in the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition. Other honors include 1st Prize and five additional awards at the 2008 International Vocal Competition in ’s-Hertogenbosch, 2nd Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2012 ARD International Music Competition in Munich, and top prizes in Marmande, Cologne, Leipzig, and Weikersheim.

 

He has worked with esteemed conductors including Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Donald Runnicles, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Daniele Callegari, Rafael Payare, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Patrik Ringborg, Constantin Trinks, Antony Hermus, Anja Bihlmaier, and Francesco Angelico. Colleagues and critics alike praise not only his artistic integrity and vocal richness but also his collegial spirit and generous musicianship.