There are two actions in this sentence. The person did not hear about the other. And, the person heard about the other person after that evening, To explain these actions, we will use past perfect tense.
Option B - 'Has' is used in the present tense. 'Heard' is used in the past tense. Thus option B is incorrect.
Option C - 'Was/heard' is used in the simple past tense. Thus option C is incorrect.
Option D - 'Did/hear' is used in the simple past tense. Thus option D is incorrect.
Option E - 'Didn't/hear' is used in the simple past tense. Thus option E is incorrect.
Option A - 'Had/heard' is used in the past perfect tense. Thus option A is the correct answer.
'He had barely heard of him until that evening.'