Sitting down with Babatunde Akinboboye, Operatic Baritone & creator of the musical genre #hiphopera was like a masterclass in technical imagination. The analogies and sensations Babatunde expresses to explain vocal events is worth the watch.
A singer of diverse talents, Nigerian American Baritone, Babatunde Akinboboye is known for his enthralling stage presence. He has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, Opera San Jose, Opera Santa Barbara, Long Beach Opera, and Utah Opera. Babatunde has also debuted the roles of Drew in the Opera Works’Arts for Social Awareness Project’s world premiere production of The Discord Opera, and Zanni in the world premiere of Gloria Coates’ Stolen Identity. His most recent performances include Daggoo in LA Opera’s Moby Dick, Escamillo in Pacific Opera Project’s production of Carmen, and Lucha’s Father in The Industry’s production of Hopscotch.
As an advocate for the performance of art song and operatic works written by African, and African American composers, Mr. Akinboboye has headlined the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry awards in Lagos, Nigeria performing a fusion of opera and traditional African music and has been a featured performer at both the National Association of Negro Musicians Annual Conference, as well as the African American Art Song Alliance Conference.
Babatunde’s honors include Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition, and finalist in the International Eisteddfod Vocal Solo Competition in Llangollen, Wales.
In December of 2018, Babatunde combined his love of classical opera and hip hop and created the new genre Hip Hopera in a viral video that gained over 10 million views and was featured on Time.com, Classic FM, MSN.com and more. His debut EP “Della Citta” is now available.
Babatunde can be found at https://www.hiphoperaworld.com and https://www.babatundebaritone.com
Voice with Julia’s #techniquetalks is where we demystify conversations surrounding vocal technique with behind-the-scenes access to great singers of today. Forget what you thought you knew about singing from your pedagogy textbook. In this series, singers get real about what works, and what doesn't. Get inspired. Try these tips. Use your judgement.
Show Notes:
00:00 Babatunde Akinboboye’s Bio
03:45 The vocal journey
09:02 How to think as a creative singer
12:12 How to work on technique
16:19 How different languages affect vocal positions
19:51 How to turn the baritone voice
24:11 How to tilt the larynx
26:19 How to breathe as a singer
35:00 How to feel intention
38:18 How to sing baritone high notes
43:48 How to have good singing posture
48:32 How to sing falsetto
50:30 Babatunde talks about #hiphopera
57:22 What is your desert island vocalise
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