Renato Girolami was born in 1959 in Italy and studied singing in Rome with Sesto Bruscantini and at the Munich Musikhochschule with Ernst Haeflinger, participating in masterclasses in Berlin under Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He began his career in Passau and Salzburg, winning particular acclaim for his 1989 performance as Leporello in the latter city, a success that led to his engagement by the Vienna Volksoper. From 1991 to 1996 he was a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble and since 1997 has worked freelance.

Renato Girolamo boasts a wide operatic repertoire, ranging from Mozart to Puccini, and has undertaken the rôle of Leporello with the two leading companies in Vienna and other major opera houses in Europe and in South America.