Opera singer Jakub Jozef Orlinski has many talents
Opera singer Jakub Jozef Orlinski
Countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski of Poland made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in November. The 30-year-old has been called the "Justin Timberlake of opera."
NEW YORK - The New Yorker called Polish countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski — who also break-dances, collaborates on streetwear, and designs jewelry — the "Justin Timberlake of opera."
"I love Justin Timberlake, so it's good," Jakub said.
Jakub made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera last month as Orpheus' double in the new opera Eurydice.
"I jumped over all of my dreams," he said.
Jakub chatted with Fox 5 News on Friday at the Warner Music Group offices in Midtown, where he played a piano — yes, he plays music, too — owned by George Gershwin.
"When I was in high school," Jakub said, "I thought 'I don't know what to do with my life, so maybe I should try to do something with music.'"
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Jakub left Warsaw to attend Julliard and then started touring and recording music written two (or more) centuries before his birth.
"I love baroque music," Jakub said. "There is so much freedom in it."
And it seems that flexibility to add and then present his own interpretation of a thing guides everything Jakub pursues.
"I was playing this prince who was kind of like hyped on drugs," Jakub said, "and I did, like in the middle of my aria, break dancing moves and then I continued to sing."
Jakub acknowledges his age, his dress, and his interests likely differ from those of the average (or at least the stereotypical) opera attendee.
"I think it's good to sometimes bring some young people to the house," he said.
Jakub hopes to inject not only some youth into his audiences ("I'm pretty active on Instagram," he said) but also a more modern energy into the operas he chooses to perform.
"For years now, I hear 'Oh, opera is dying. Opera is dying,'" Jakub said. "Wherever I go, the majority of concerts are totally sold out."
After his final performances at the Met, Jakub will debut at London's Royal Opera House. He just released his third solo album, and hinted at future collaborations fusing classical with pop and hip-hop.