Jakub Józef Orliński

Polish countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński, Grand Finals winner of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and winner of the 2015 Marcella Sembrich International Vocal Competition, is quickly gaining a reputation as a singer of striking vocal beauty and daring stage craft.

In the 2017-18 season, Mr. Orliński will make his house and role debut at Oper Frankfurt as the title character in Handel's Rinaldo. He will then join Festival d'Aix-en-Provence on tour to sing the role of Orimeno in Cavalli's Erismena at the Château De Versailles and Festival de Saint-Denis. Concert appearances will include a tour of Handel's Rinaldo as Eustazio with The English Concert led by Harry Bicket, a performance of Vivaldi's music with Chicago's Music of the Baroque, and Handel's Messiah with the Portland Baroque Orchestra. He will make his Wigmore Hall recital debut in the summer of 2018.

The 2016-17 season included performances of Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall with both Musica Sacra and Oratorio Society of New York, and for his debut with the Houston Symphony. Mr. Orlinski performed in Flight, Jonathan Dove's modern-day comedy, with Juilliard Opera. He also sang the role of Ottone in Handel's Agrippina with Juilliard Opera in conjunction with Carnegie Hall's La Serenissima: Music and Arts From the Venetian Republic festival. He joined the Karlsruhe Handel Festival to sing Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus and excerpts from Handel's Dixit Dominus. In addition, he made his debut with the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in Cavalli's opera Erismena.

While in Poland, Mr. Orliński performed the roles of Cupid in Venus & Adonis by Blow and Narciso in Agrippina by Handel. While in Germany, he performed the role of Ruggiero in Handel's Alcina in Aachen and Cottbus, performed select Purcell songs with ballet at the Leipzig Opera House, and Philippus in Telemann's Der Misslungene Braut-Wechsel oder Richardus I (based on Handel's Riccardo Primo, Re d'Inghilterra) in Gießen.

Mr. Orliński has triumphed in several vocal competitions winning first place at the Oratorio Society of New York's 2016 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, the first and second annual International Early Music Vocal Competitions in Poland, where he received "Special Mention" and "Special Prize," respectively, First Prize at Rudolf Petrák's Singing Competition in Slovakia, third place at the Debut Competition in Igersheim, Germany, Special Mention at the Eighth Annual Mazovian Golden Voices Competition in Poland, and third place at Le Grand Prix de l'Opera in Bucharest, Romania.

While working toward his Master's degree in vocal performance at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, he participated in the prestigious young artist programs at both Teatr Wielki and Opera Narodowa. Mr. Orlinski earned his Graduate Diploma at The Juilliard School, studying with Edith Wiens.

In his spare time, Mr. Orliński enjoys breakdancing, in addition to other styles of dance. His achievements in this arena include prizes in many dance competitions: fourth place at the Red Bull BC One Poland Cypher competition, second place on the Stylish Strike - Top Rock Contest and second place at The Style Control competition, among others. He has also been featured in a commercial for the street wear company CROPP, as well as featured as a dancer, model and acrobat in campaigns for Levi's, Nike, Turbokolor, Samsung, Mercedes-Benz, MAC Cosmetics, Danon and Algida. Jakub Józef Orliński is an exclusive Erato/Warner Classics artist.