Jakub Józef Orliński, opera singer who break dances, marks a momentous year

Jakub Józef Orliński, an operatic countertenor who break dances on the side, celebrates a remarkable career year.

While other opera singers try to mark their Metropolitan Opera debuts with a musical flourish, Jakub Józef Orliński stood out with a twisting leap.

Piotr Beczała, Orliński's Polish compatriot, always seemed to enjoy swinging around a pole for a "Rigoletto" set in Las Vegas, and Elīna Garanča certainly made a mark with her physically demanding "Carmen," but opera singers aren't normally known for their dancing skills.

And then there's Orliński, 31. As a countertenor -- the male voice with the highest range (think The Weeknd) -- Orliński's usual musical choices trend older, as in 18th century, 100 years before what some might call the golden age of opera. But the hobby he is known for is nothing but modern: when he's not singing Baroque gems, Orliński break dances.

"In breaking, there is a lot of freedom. And you can really do the same move as 100 people, and you can do it 100 different ways," he told ABC News on a Zoom call from Warsaw. "I feel like you are becoming like a visual effect of the music you hear, which is really freeing, and sort of I treat it as a meditation."