Das Wunder der Heliane

In one scene of this production soprano Sara Jakubiak let drop her gown, showing her body completely naked. Jakubiak said the exposed body is justified because it appears in the scene (the stranger asks Heliane, 'Can I see your body, please?'). But soprano admits giving it a lot of thought. "My friends and colleagues in the United States, where things are much more conservative, can't believe I'm actually doing this. They ask, 'Why are you doing this? Even the underwear! That's going too far.' But I think Heliane's nudity makes the scene very strong. After she exposes herself, she says, 'I'll pray for you. And for me.' Korngold offers two possibilities here: The line can be sung - or spoken. We sing it, but very softly, so it doesn't sound like opera at all. You focus on the text at this point, not the singing. And when I'm standing there completely naked, those words take on a lot of weight. If I had my panties on at that point, the line wouldn't be so on point." Asked about the rehearsals, Jakubaik said, "The first nude rehearsal totally surprised me. There was nothing shameful about it for me. On the contrary, it was an almost poetic experience. Let's put it this way: In the rehearsal, being naked in front of everyone didn't bother me."