—Season Opener La Scala 2025-26 season: BACHTRACK
Sara Jakubiak has earned renown for her ability to bring complex characters to life, blending musical understanding with dramatic instincts. A sought-after performer of rare distinction, she commands the stage with interpretations of both classic and contemporary works that have mesmerized critics and audiences alike, her vocal mastery and bold reimagining of operatic tradition setting her apart as a true force in the world of opera.
“Sara Jakubiak delivered an exceptional performance as Katerina."
"Her dramatic soprano possesses a warm, beautiful colour, and her technical command carried her through the harsh, grueling, emotionally punishing role with apparent ease .... Her interpretation was richly nuanced, conveying Katerina's raw desire, homicidal fury, fleeting tenderness for Sergey and, ultimately, her devastating despair, a masterful performance.”
as Katerina Ismailova in La Scala’s opening night production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, reaffirming her reputation as an artist of exceptional dramatic depth and vocal prowess. In addition, Ms. Jakubiak took on her first Isolde in Tristan und Isolde with Anthony Pappano and the London Symphony. She also debuted the role of Leonora in Fidelio with Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra. These milestone appearances underscore her continued ascent as one of opera’s most compelling and versatile sopranos.
“Her Isolde was outstanding...she hurled down curses on ship and crew...[and] quivered with sexual anticipation...before bringing an effortless calm to the love duet. The Liebestod ...soared, every note and word audible.”
—July 2026 MUSICAL AMERICA
Last season she captivated audiences
—May 2026, CLEVELAND.COM
"So convincing was her portrayal of Leonore (Fidelio), one never would have guessed she was a late addition. The character’s main aria was a snapshot of Jakubiak’s larger performance: well-paced, emotionally nuanced, and spot-on musically.”
"Most courageous among the cast was soprano Sara Jukubiak, in the title role."
is devoted to the music of Richard Strauss and Wagner. She begins the season at Opernhaus Zürich as Chrysothemis in a new production of Elektra by Lydia Steier. She will make her role debut as Salome at Dutch National Opera before returning to the Cleveland Orchestra as the Kaiserin in Die Frau ohne Schatten, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. Ms. Jakubiak will also undertake her first stage production of Tristan und Isolde and ends the season by reprising the role of Chrysothemis in Christoph Loy’s critically acclaimed production at Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden of Elektra.
Ms. Jakubiak’s 2026–2027 operatic season
Featuring rarely performed works for voice and orchestra with John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London. The album will include Korngold’s Sechs einfache Lieder, an orchestral arrangement by Daniel Black of Dvořák’s Gypsy Songs, and Schreker’s Vom ewigen Leben. She will also record Schoenberg’s Op. 8 for Deutsche Grammophon with Fabio Luisi and the Danish Radio Orchestra.
Her current discography includes the 2020 Opus Klassik Award winning production of Das Wunder der Heliane (Loy/Abrecht) Naxos; Agathe in Der Freischütz (Thielemann/Kohler) Unitel Classica; Salzburg Festival’s award winning The Greek Passion (Pascal/Stone); Francesca da Rimini (Rizzi/Loy) Naxos; Arabella (Runicles/Krätzer) Naxos and Sieglinde in Die Walkure with Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony. She has also recorded Schoenberg’s Erwartung and the Grammy-nominated Glagolitic Mass by Janáček with Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic with Chandos.
In 2027, Chandos will release her next CD
Trained at Yale and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Ms. Jakubiak quickly became known for her dedication to bringing complex, emotionally charged characters to life with profound nuance both musically and dramatically. She began her international career with her ENO debut as Marie in Wozzeck under Ed Gardner, followed by her debut as Polina in Prokofiev's The Gambler at the Dutch National Opera and Elsa in Lohengrin at Opera Graz. As a principal member at Oper Frankfurt, she distinguished herself in a wide range of roles including the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos, Marta in Die Passagierin, and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin. She also won high praise in Frankfurt for her portrayal of Marietta/Marie in Korngold's Die Tote Stadt and was invited to sing the same role for her debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg and Berlin's Komische Oper.
Sara hails from Bay City Michigan, where growing up her first starring role was on a fast-pitch softball team, winning tournaments throughout the United States. On the field, she was known as a utility player, adaptable and ready for any position. Off the field, that same instinct shines through in a repertoire as varied and dynamic as the game she mastered.
—oPERA TODAY
"..she throws herself into Fiora's music with abandon and gives a performance of spine-tingling power....
