Recital: Jakub Józef Orliński, countertenor Michał Biel, piano

Part of what makes Jakub Józef Orliński riveting as a performer is how he embodies contradictions—he’s a countertenor, but often prefers to linger in the rich lower part of his range; his comportment speaks to his well-documented skill </span><span>off-stage in</span><span> the hyperphysical world of pro breakdancing, yet he sings ethereally, like an angel without corporeal form. Orliński is praised for bringing vitality and sensuality to centuries-old music, and has enjoyed mining the countertenor repertoire for unrecorded, little-known gems. </span></p>

<p><span>Joined by his one-time Juilliard dormmate and frequent collaborator, the Polish pianist Michał Biel, he performs a wide-ranging program in English, German, Italian, and Polish—by Purcell, Schubert, Handel, Copland, </span><span>and the</span><span> late 19th-century Polish composer Mieczysław Karłowicz, </span><span>as well as a settin</span><span>g of a Whitman poem by American composer Charles