The Japanese bass Yasushi Hirano studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, with additional training from Rotraud Hansmann and Robert Holl. His first engagements included appearances at the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in Handel’s Ottone and at the Salzburg Festival in the world premiere of Henze’s Gogo no Eiko conducted by Gerd Albrecht.
During his time as an ensemble member of Graz Opera, where he appeared in roles such as Hermit (Der Freischütz) and Samuel (Un ballo in maschera), he also performed as a guest artist at the Styriarte in Mozart’s Idomeneo and Smetana’s The Bartered Bride under Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He made his debut at the New National Theatre in his home city of Tokyo as Spirit Messenger (Die Frau ohne Schatten), returning there as Leporello (Don Giovanni) and as the King (Aida). From 2008 to 2022 he was an ensemble member at the Vienna Volksoper, singing roles including the title role of Le nozze di Figaro, Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Colline (La bohème), the Bonze (Madama Butterfly), Talpa (Il tabarro), Pimen (Boris Godunov) and Bertrand in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta.
He made his debut at the Bregenz Festival as Mandarin in Puccini’s Turandot, returning as Zuniga (Carmen). He has sung Hermit and Don Fernando (Fidelio) at the Burg Gars Opera Festival and Leporello and King (Aida) at the Tyrol Festival in Erl, and has appeared as Spirit Messenger at the Berlin Philharmonie and at the George Enescu Festival with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski.
Alongside his opera career Yasushi Hirano performs regularly in concert, in repertory including Bach’s St John Passion, Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, Beethoven’s Mass in C major and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse. He has also performed Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under Yutaka Sado at the Vienna Musikverein, and toured Japan with the Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna.
As a song interpreter, he is accompanied by his wife Sayuri Hirano.
