ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

NANCY PLEVIN

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)—Miss Ohio Titilayo Rachel Adedokun won the talent competition Wednesday with a a song from the opera ‘‘Faust’‘ on the second of three nights of preliminary contests to the 1994 Miss America title.

Adedokun, 20, a student at Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, is working toward a career as an opera singer. She grew up in Nigeria.

Miss California Lisa Michelle Duncan won the swimsuit competition. Duncan, 21, of Tulare, Calif., wore a blue one-piece suit and four-inch beige heels.

Adedokun said she sang ‘‘The Jewel Song’‘ from the opera ‘‘Faust’‘ because it is technically demanding. She said she worked on the song for three years before perfecting it.

‘‘It requires the proper use of trills, breath control, a lot of different technical aspects while maintaining a very bright aura,’‘ Adedokun said.

Duncan said se worked with a personal trainer for nearly two months to perfect her figure for the swimsuit competition.

‘‘I’m so excited,’‘ she said. ‘‘Just look at the girls’ figures and everyone has devoted a lot of time. I feel honored to have been able to accomplish this.‘’

The 50 contestants are divided into three groups, each competing in preliminary contests in swimsuit, talent and evening wear categories. Winners gain points toward qualifying as one of the 10 semifinalists in Saturday’s televised final.

They also win prizes of $1,500 for talent and $500 for swimsuit.

Pageant officials do not announced winners of the evening wear competition to retain an element of surprise.

The preliminary competition ends Thursday night.

The new Miss America will get a $35,000 scholarship, a 1994 red Chevrolet Camaro and will travel around the country for a year promoting an issue she selected. She also is expected to earn about $200,000 in speaking fees.

This year’s crown-holder succeeds Leanza Cornett of Jacksonville, Fla., who promoted AIDS education and is negotiating a contract for a job on the syndicated television show ‘‘Entertainment Tonight.’‘