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.
"Ms. Jakubiak has a wonderfully expansive, glamorous and youthful dramatic soprano…a luxurious, changeable voice blessed with infinite colors that only appears once every generation."
—Online Merkur
She makes her La Scala debut as Katerina Ismailova in the opening night production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with Maestro Ricardo Chailly on the podium, the first American woman to open the season since Maria Callas in 1954. She also sings her first Isolde (Tristan und Isolde) with Anthony Pappano and the London Symphony. Ms. Jakubiak also opens the season at the Norwegian National Opera with her role debut as Rusalka (Gardner). Other highlights include a reprise of her title role in the critically acclaimed production of Francesca di Rimini at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Elsa in the Konwitschny production of Lohengrin at the Hamburg State Opera. She makes her debut with the Danish Symphony Orchestra singing her first Wesendonk Lieder with Fabio Luisi.
Her 2025-26 season is a season of firsts.
Her voice confident, powerful, had projection, and her dark vocal color was appropriate to the character. Her commitment to the daring theatrical direction, amazed."
"In her Liceu (Barcelona) debut, soprano Sara Jakubiak…in the role of Katerina, was an outstanding performer."
—opera online
including Katerina in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Liceu, Barcelona); Chrysothemis in Strauss's Elektra, (Convent Garden, Palais des Arts, Valencia, Washington National Opera) and the title role in Arabella (Teatro Real Madrid and Deutsche Oper Berlin), about which ABC Cultura wrote: "Jakubiak is the perfect Arabella. Hers is a voice full of colors and precious metals, the voice of a bird of paradise..."
Other celebrated roles include the Kaiserin in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten at Opéra de Lyon (Rustioni/Trelinski ), Sieglinde in concert performances of Die Walküre with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Luisi) and Katerina in the award-winning Salzburg Festival production of The Greek Passion (Pascal/Stone).
Earlier in her career she was fortunate to have had the opportunity to take part in a variety of new productions of note including Agathe in Die Freischütz (Thielemann/Kohler) with the Semperoper Dresden, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Petrenko/Bosch, Bayerische Staatsoper) and Heliane in Deutsche Oper Berlin's production of Korngold's rarely performed Das Wunder der Heliane directed by Christoph Loy and conducted by Marc Albrecht. Other important performances have included Francesca in a new production of Francesca da Rimini at Deutsche Oper Berlin (Loy/Rizzi), Cathy in the world premiere of Wuthering Heights by Bernard Herrmann (Minnesota Opera) and Juliette in the American premiere of Martinů's Juliette at Carnegie Hall (Botstein/American Symphony Orchestra).
In the last few years Ms. Jakubiak has had a number of critically acclaimed debuts...
A sampling of her performances with orchestra include Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder (Rustioni/Lyon), Janacek's Glagolitic Mass (Gardner/London Philharmonic Orchestra.), Britten's War Requiem for the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Dresden (Runnicles/Dresden Philharmoniker ), Schoenberg's Erwartung (Wigglesworth/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) Korngold's Sechs einfache Lieder, Dvôrak's Gypsy Songs (arr. Black) and Schrecker's Vom ewigen Leben (Wilson/Sinfonia of London).
Jakubiak has a significant opera discography including the 2020 Opus Klassik Award winning production of Das Wunder der Heliane (Loy/Abrecht) Naxos; Agathe in Der Freischütz (Thielemann/Kohler) Unitel Classica; The Greek Passion (Pascal/Stone); Francesca da Rimini (Rizzi/Loy) Naxos; Arabella (Runicles/Krätzer) Naxos and Fiora in Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre Re with the Polish Radio Symphony, Łukasz Borowicz conducting (MP3). She has also recorded Schoenberg's Erwartung and the Grammy-nominated Glagolitic Mass by Janáček with Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic with Chandos.
As with her operatic repertoire, her concert repertoire is also diverse.
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.
"..she throws herself into Fiora's music with abandon and gives a performance of spine-tingling power....
—oPERA TODAY
