Hansung Yoo

INTRODUCTION

The baritone Hansung Yoo is known for his warm baritone voice, radiating and resonating powerfully on stage. His performance as a dramatic baritone has been described as mesmerizing and compelling.  He has mastered both voice control and acting skills, bringing creativity and conviction to the roles he plays.

RECENT AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

Hansung’s most recent and future projects include (among others):

• a house debut as Ping/Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera in New York;
• Ping/Turandot at Royal Opera House Covent Garden (a reinvite) as well as on tour in Japan;
• Schaunard/La Bohème at Royal Opera House Covent Garden;
• a role debut in the title role in Macbeth by Verdi at Theater und Orchester Heidelberg;
• a debut as Kurwenal/Tristan und Isolde at the Deutsche Oper Berlin;
• Ping/Turandot at Semperoper Dresden (a house debut), at Oesternfestspiele Salzburg w. C. Thielemann, and at the Israeli National Opera in Tel Aviv;
• Tonio/I Pagliacci at Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv (house debut);
• Giorgio Germont/La Traviata at Korea National Opera;
• a debut as Scarpia/Tosca, Gunther/Götterdämmerung, Giorgio Germont/La Traviata, Escamillo/Carmen and Donner/Rheingold at Staatstheater Kassel;
• Amfortas/Parsifal and the title role in Rigoletto at Theater Koblenz;
• Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz.

BIOGRAPHY

In order to advance his career internationally, Hansung Yoo has been working freelance since the 2022/23 season. He recently made his acclaimed debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Kurwenal/Tristan und Isolde.

In season 2022/2023 he got excellent reviews in two productions: Don Carlo di Vargas/La forza del destino at the Saarbrücken State Theater, and his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, where he took the stage as Ping in Turandot, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano.

From 2013 to 2022, Hansung Yoo was a permanent member of the ensemble at the Staatstheater Kassel, where he appeared in a large number of roles.  He has performed as Papageno/The Magic Flute, Dr. Falke/Die Fledermaus, Figaro/Il barbiere di Siviglia, Shaunard and Marcello/La Bohème, Mercutio/Roméo et Juliette, the title role in Eugene Onegin, Pierrot Fritz/Die tote Stadt, Conte di Almaviva/Le nozze di Figaro, Carlo Gerard/Andrea Chénier, Alfio/Cavalleria rusticana, Tonio/I Pagliacci, Kurwenal/Tristan and Isolde, Gunther/Götterdämmerung and Scarpia/Tosca.

While at Kassel, he also sang Sharpless/Madama Butterfly at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.  At the Theater Koblenz, he was Amfortas/Parsifal.and in Il Trovatore, he played Count Luna.  He performed in the title role of Rigoletto, a production taking place at the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz.

Born and raised in South Korea in 1985, Hansung Yoo first studied singing at the Korea National University of Arts with Prof. Hans Choi and then at the Robert Schumann Music Academy with Prof. Michaela Krämer.  He completed his singing studies with a master’s degree and the ‘concert exam’in opera at the University of Music and Theater in Hamburg.

Hansung’s achievements include many singing prizes. For example, in 2008 he won first prize and five special prizes at the IVC competition in Hertogenbosch, in 2012 he was the winner of the Cologne International Music Competition and a prizewinner at the 61st ARD International Music Competition.  In 2015 he was awarded third prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

Hansung Yoo has worked with conductors such as Daniele Callegari, Francesco Angelico, Patrik Ringborg, Constantin Trinks, Antony Hermus, Yoel Gamzou, Sir Donald Runnicles, and Sir Antonio Pappano. Among other colleagues, they have praised his performing abilities but also his energetic and collegiate personality.