Admired by the New York Times for her “plush-voiced, impressive soprano,” Sara Jakubiak has captivated audiences with her rich chameleon voice and committed performances.
She completed her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and at Yale University. In the first years of her career, she appeared at the Minnesota Opera as Cathy in Bernard Hermann’s "Wuthering Heights" and made her debut with the New York City Opera as Dede in Bernstein’s "A Quiet Place". She began her international career in 2013, when she made her European debut at the English National Opera as Marie in "Wozzeck" under Edward Gardner.
The soprano subsequently debuted at the Dutch National Opera as Polina in Prokofiev’s "The Gambler". In 2014, she joined the ensemble of the Oper Frankfurt, where she distinguished herself in a wide range of roles in new productions. She sang the title role in "Ariadne auf Naxos", Lina in "Stiffelio", Polina in "The Gambler", Alice Ford in "Falstaff", the Goose Girl in "Königskinder", Tatyana in "Eugene Onegin", Ellen Orford in "Peter Grimes", and Marta in Weinberg’s "The Passenger". 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, where she later returned for her debut in the title role of Strauss’s "Daphne".
Sara Jakubiak sang her first Elsa in "Lohengrin" in Graz and appeared with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta as Rosalinde in "Die Fledermaus". In 2016, she made her debut at the Semperoper Dresden as Agathe in "Der Freischütz" under Christian Thielemann. In 2017, she debuted at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Eva in the new production of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg", opposite Jonas Kaufmann and Wolfgang Koch, and conducted by Kirill Petrenko. In 2018, she starred as Heliane in the Deutsche Oper Berlin’s revival of Korngold’s rarely performed "Das Wunder der Heliane", a production directed by Christof Loy and conducted by Marc Albrecht. The production was an international triumph. The Online Merker stated, "Ms. Jakubiak has a wonderfully expansive, glamorous and youthful dramatic soprano… a luxurious, changeable voice blessed with infinite colors that only appears once every twenty years."
In the 2019/20 season, Sara Jakubiak made her role and house debut as Chrysothemis in Robert Carsen’s production of "Elektra" at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, conducted by Marc Albrecht. She also returned to the Semperoper Dresden as Eva in "Die Meistersinger" under Christian Thielemann and made her Carnegie Hall debut in the title role of Martinu’s "Julietta" under Leon Botstein. In the 2020/21 season, she returned to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for her debut in the title role of the new production of "Francesca da Rimini". In June of 2021, she made her Wiener Staatsoper debut as Elsa in "Lohengrin".
Highlights of the 2023/24 season included her debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2023 in Bohuslav Martinů’s "The Greek Passion". Furthermore, she debuted the role of Kaiserin in Strauss’ "Die Frau ohne Schatten" at Opéra National de Lyon. She returned to Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Chrysothemis in "Elektra", last performed by her at Washington National Opera in Autumn 2022. She then continued to debut for the first time as Sieglinde in concert performances of "Die Walküre" with Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Spring 2024. For her Italian stage debut in 2024, she graced the Teatro la Fenice in Venice as the title role of "Ariadne auf Naxos".
In 2024/25, Sara Jakubiak opened the season at the Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona in the title role of “Lady Macbeth of Mzensk”. She returns to the Dutch National Opera as Kaiserin in "Die Frau ohne Schatten" and gives her role debut as Lisa in "Pique Dame" at Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Sara Jakubiak can be seen on DVD as Agathe in "Der Freischütz" (Thielemann/Kohler) and the Naxos Records releases of "Das Wunder der Heliane" (Albrecht /Loy) and "Francesca da Rimini". She can also be heard on the Grammy-nominated Chandos recording of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Gardiner), as Fiora in Montemezzi’s "L’amore dei tre Re" with the Polish Radio Symphony (Borowicz), and in "Erwartung" with the Bergen Philharmonic, also under Edward Gardner and released on the Chandos label.