Titilayo Rachel Adedokun (born 1973) is an American singer and beauty pageant titleholder. She sang in numerous

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

roles worldwide and has also recorded and collaborated in several

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

albums.

Early life and education

Adedokun was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, to

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

immigrants. Her father was a pastor with a doctorate in theology, so she grew up from childhood with church music. She is a graduate of the

Cincinnati Conservatory of Music The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, w ...

, where she studied singing. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Judson College in Marion, Alabama. After winning the 1996/97 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship to Milan, Italy, she lived for five years there and studied classical singing with Vincenzo Manno and

Renata Scotto Renata Scotto (24 February 1934 – 16 August 2023) was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Recognised for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered to have been one of the pr ...

. She also worked with the jazz pianist and composer

Giorgio Gaslini Giorgio Gaslini (; 22 October 1929 – 29 July 2014) was an Italian jazz pianist, composer and conductor. He began performing aged 13 and recorded with his jazz trio at 16. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gaslini performed with his own quartet. He was ...

Pageantry

When Adedokun was at the Judson College in Marion, Alabama, a teacher persuaded her to take part in a beauty contest. At the first competition in Marion, she was far behind. Adedokun took this decision "very racist" and proceeded to compete at the

Miss Alabama The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition. Alabama has won four Miss America titles: Abbie Stockard in 2025, Deidre Downs in 2005, Heather White ...

pageant, where she emerged fifth position in the 1990 finalists. She then participated in another beauty contest in 1993 where she was crowned

Miss Ohio The Miss Ohio Scholarship Program selects the representative for the U.S. state of Ohio to compete for the title of Miss America. The pageant is held annually, during the "Miss Ohio Festival" week, at the historic 1,600 seat Ohio Theatre (Mansfi ...

, and later became second runner-up in the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

pageant in 1994. Adedokun used her prize winnings to finance her vocal training in Italy.

Singing

In 2002, she was engaged for the first time in Germany. She appeared at the opera festival on Immling Estate in

Halfing Halfing is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria in Germany. It is located in the western part of the Chiemgau area, half-way between Chiemsee and Wasserburg am Inn. History The village was mentioned first in a deed from 928 w ...

, Bavaria. The following year, she performed in Germany the role of Giulietta in ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

''. To mark the centenary of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

's death, she sang in the

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II e ...

staging of ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' at

Teatro Giuseppe Verdi Teatro Giuseppe Verdi (the Giuseppe Verdi Theatre) is a small opera house located in a wing of the Rocca dei Marchesi Pallavicino on the Piazza Giuseppe Verdi in Busseto, Italy, a town closely associated with the life of the opera composer, Giusepp ...

in Busseto, Italy, in the title role. Adedokun played roles in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' and ''

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was s ...

''. She has appeared in the United States, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia and Hungary. In 2008, she starred in several German cities in a touring performance of ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

''. Since 2009, Adedokun performs regularly at the festival Munich Swings. Some of her songs have been recorded in the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. ...

Personal life

Since 2004, Adedokun has lived in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where she married Ruediger Helm and has three children.

Discography

* ''A Child Again'' (GLM, 2009) * ''Look at Me'' (Downhill, 2014)

As guest

* Giorgio Gaslini, ''Duke Ellington Legend'' (Agora, 2000)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adedokun, Titilayo 1973 births Living people American musicians of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent Yoruba beauty pageant contestants Miss America 1994 delegates American women jazz singers American jazz singers American operatic sopranos American expatriates in Germany Beauty pageant contestants from Tennessee University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni Yoruba women musicians Nigerian jazz singers Nigerian women jazz singers Judson College (Alabama) alumni American expatriates in Italy Singers from Nashville, Tennessee American beauty pageant winners Yoruba-language singers of the United States Miss America Preliminary Talent winners 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century Nigerian singers Jazz musicians from Tennessee