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Who is Jakub Józef Orliński? The breakdancing countertenor who sang at the Olympics
2 August 2024, 09:46 | Updated: 2 August 2024, 09:48
Opera and breakdancing “have quite a lot in common” according to the star countertenor – here’s everything you need to know.
Jakub Józef Orlińksi is a 33-year-old Polish countertenor, best known for combining two unlikely art forms: opera and breakdancing.
A boundary-breaking star of the opera world, he wowed the world at the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony in Paris by performing a Rameau aria and breakdancing.
In 2019, musicologist Roger Parker described Orliński as “the real countertenor deal”, adding: “He has raised the bar decisively for what we can expect of this voice type in this repertory.”
But what does singing as a countertenor involve, and how do those impressive dance moves contribute to his career in opera?
Read more: Which musicians were at the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Jakub Józef Orliński | Breakdancing & Opera | Classic FM
Who is Jakub Józef Orliński?
Jakub Józef Orliński is a Polish countertenor, known for coupling breakdancing with a successful career in opera.
He has opened up the world of classical music and opera to new audiences, exciting young fans with his vocal flair and stage presence. His live performance of Vivaldi’s ‘Vedrò con mio diletto’ with pianist Alphonse Cemin, filmed in 2017 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, went viral reaching more than four million views on YouTube.
A Warner Classics and Erato artist, the countertenor has released 15 albums of Baroque works to date. His first Warner recording, Anima Sacra, won critical accolades and earned him the prestigious Opus Klassik award for Solo Vocal Recording.
Orliński studied at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and has performed leading roles with many major opera houses including the New York Met, Royal Opera House and Oper Frankfurt.
How does breakdancing contribute a career in opera?
“What I love about mixing breakdancing, or hip-hop culture, with the opera world is that, actually, they have quite a lot in common,” Orliński says.
That might not seem likely – and the countertenor himself says he thought that too – but turns out, the two go hand in hand.
“You can take a lot from the one art form and put it into the other one. It’s not just that I like to do a trick because I can do a trick. It’s because you can do a lot of things to do with body awareness on stage.
“I feel very comfortable when I’m performing opera, or when I do concerts, because I’m just aware of my body.”
Being aware of his body certainly would have helped Orliński in his recent performance at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, which saw him breakdancing on a roof and singing Rameau.
What is a countertenor?
“A countertenor sings with falsetto,” Orliński tells us.
“Usually when you’re using your natural you are using the whole chords to vibrate, and if you are using the falsetto – or the head voice – you are using just the edges – and that’s why you can sing so high.”
Speaking to Classic FM again in 2024, Orliński added that “being a countertenor wasn’t always easy”.
“Now I love it, but at the beginning I was running around in different circles – I had my group of friends from my skateboarding community, and then also capoeira, and then acrobatic friends, and then I had people from tennis classes and then breaking of course.”
As well as breakdancing and opera, Orliński is a skateboarding champion who has always had a deep love for dance and movement, alongside music.
“And I have to say, I was confused. I didn’t know which path to focus on, but I knew it had to be something to do with music because I love music, and it actually dictates my life in a certain way.
“At university they told me many, many times, ‘you have to stop breaking and doing those extreme sports, because otherwise you will never make it’. And I am that kind of person that if you tell me I cannot do something, I will prove that you are wrong and I will do it!”
Jakub makes his Edinburgh International Festival debut on 3 August, and opens Wigmore Hall’s 2024-25 season on 12 September. He releases his next album on Warner Classics/Erato, #LetsBaRock, on 27 September – the first single is available to stream now. Visit jakubjozeforlinski.com to find out more.
