Review: Jakub Józef Orliński’s debut recital brings La Scala to its feet
Graham Spicer sees Jakub Józef Orliński and Michał Biel make their debut at La Scala in a first-rate programme rewarded by a standing ovation.
| Title | Recital |
| Company | Jakub Józef Orliński – Michał Biel |
| Venue | Teatro alla Scala |
| Date | 7 June 2026 |
| Reviewer | Graham Spicer |
“Yes, he did!”
That’s the answer to the question I have been asked several times over the last few weeks – will Jakub Józef Orliński do some breakdancing during his La Scala debut?
It was held off until the fourth encore, but that is what some of his quite vocal fans were wanting, and he gave them… us… 10 seconds of b-boy fun before jumping onto his feet and, without missing a beat, launching into Purcell’s ‘Strike the Viol’.
When I first interviewed Orliński in 2018, it was just before his first disc was due out, and a year after his well-known YouTube video of Vivaldi’s ‘Vedro con mio diletto’ was made available online, amazingly notching up 2 million views. Now that video has been seen over 13 million times, he has released almost one album a year, and has become an international star.
Apart from this being Orliński’s debut at Milan’s opera house, it is also the first recital featuring a countertenor and a pianist there. He joyfully told the audience this towards the end of the programme, thanking La Scala before going on to thank Rolex, his manager and his parents! His natural effervescence means that such declarations don’t seem arrogant or calculated. His unassuming nature is reflected in his body language – when a group of songs was continually interrupted by applause, he put one hand on his chest and gave a brief nod; and when holding out both arms to receive applause at the correct moment, his elbows were bent, like a priest behind the altar, rather than the self-satisfied arms-above-the-shoulders pose that only Pavarotti and a few others have got away with. He expressed genuine surprise at the warm reception when he stepped onto the stage, then apologised for his Italian before continuing to speak clearly and fluently – something typical of singers who are daily finetuning their voices.
The programme was a mix of familiar songs and arias by Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel, alongside lesser-known songs by Polish composers Tadeusz Baird and Mieczysław Karłowicz. The Polish songs are featured on Orliński’s 2022 album Farewells, and the pieces by Purcell and Handel are part of the recently released album If music…. On both discs, he is accompanied by his long-time collaborator and fellow Pole, Michał Biel, whose fine accompaniment marries Orliński’s voice with simple ease, so the two are very much a duo moving hand in hand through the programme.
Karłowicz died in 1909 at the age of just 32. The seven songs chosen for the programme were gems, mostly introspective and intense, such as ‘Mów do mnie jeszcze’ (Keep talking to me) and ‘Smutną jest dusza moja’ (My soul is sad), or dreamy, like the closing ‘Czasem gdy długo na pół sennie marzę’ (Sometimes, when I lie half-asleep). Orliński excels in such contemplative pieces, with desolate, straight tones giving way to light vibrato. His voice is warmer and has greater breadth than when we first heard him, eight or nine years ago, and his control is impeccable.
No aria is more powerful or intense than ‘What Power art Thou’ (often called the ‘Cold Song’) from Purcell’s King Arthur (1691). Biel’s ‘chilling’ throbbing piano chords underscored the fractured vocal line as the words were sung through suffering: “I can scarcely move or draw my breath? Let me, let me freeze again to death.” Orliński convincingly conveyed unbearable anguish, and the harrowing aria, just three minutes long, perhaps drew the greatest applause of the evening.
Baird’s Four Love Sonnets were part of the incidental music he wrote for a production of Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet in Warsaw in 1956. Baird chose four of Shakespeare’s 154 Sonnets to intersperse in the play – Sonnets 23, 91, 56 and 97. They are quite simple and direct, yet varied, each creating a mini-scene. Orliński made great use of the (Polish) text – interestingly, the only pieces in which he held the score were the Polish songs.
The coloratura arias were performed with verve, including two wind-inspired arias by Handel – the bright ‘Un zeffiro spirò’ (A Breeze has blown) from Rodelinda (1725), and the raging ‘Furibondo spira il vento’ (Furiously blows the wind) from Partenope (1730), which showed Orliński’s virtuosity; the latter aria took him down into his baritone register without any violent changes of gear.
But Orliński’s greatest strength is granting specialness to simpler melodies, so Purcell’s ‘O Lead Me to Some Peaceful Gloom’ and ‘Sweeter than Roses’, as well as Handel’s ‘Verdi prati’ (which was one of five encores), were standout moments in a first-rate programme. His standing ovation was utterly deserved.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
