Selected by Nora Fischer
Season 26-27 / What are creators and musicians themselves looking forward to? In our Selected by… series, leading voices from the music and theatre world share their personal highlights from the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ’s new season.
Listen to Nora Fischer speak about music and one thing becomes clear: she is fascinated by creators who defy limits. The singer and theatre maker has been moving between different worlds for years. Classically trained but never confined, she constantly seeks new ways to fuse music, text and drama. It is this very urge to push boundaries that drew her from the concert stage to the world of theatre.
Fischer recalls her first encounter with the work of Caroline Shaw, who at the time had just won the Pulitzer Prize for her Partita for 8 Voices. ‘The Partita completely threw me. I remember thinking: what on earth is happening here?’ Eight voices doing something she had never heard before – not classical, but instantly intriguing. ‘I’m completely captivated by how Shaw makes complex, new music so accessible.’ Even listeners without a classical background are effortlessly drawn in. ‘That ability is rare. What’s more, her voice sounds so gentle to the ear, you just want to keep listening.’
After an intense period during which singing was no longer a given for Fischer, and during which the mezzo-soprano reinvented herself as a theatre maker and writer, she has now reached a turning point. Discussions with sports psychologists about performing under pressure provided valuable insight. ‘I’ve really found a new path,’ she says. ‘And I’m so happy that I can still devote myself entirely to the arts.’
A place that plays a key role in that development is the Muziekgebouw. ‘The cold building with the warm soul,’ laughs Fischer. ‘I have so many warm feelings associated with it,’ she says. ‘I’ve sung there a lot, and gained a great deal of confidence.’ That confidence culminated in 2024 with the premiere of her own show, De Sprong. ‘That was so special, especially because it was largely a spoken-word piece. The fact that they gave me that opportunity felt like a genuine act of friendship.’
Fischer is also looking forward to The Alonetimes by Jessica Walsh en Philip Venables, featuring performers such as Diamanda La Berge Dramm. What appeals to her is the way the piece came about. ‘The music, words, direction; it was all created together. In the world of new music, the composer is often in one room and the librettist in another, and they barely speak to each other. You end up with a piece that everyone has worked on in isolation: you can feel that.’ It is precisely the collaborative starting point of The Alonetimes that piques her curiosity. ‘A single idea developed together, complete synergy – that’s what I’m looking forward to.’
Fischer’s affinity for boundary-pushing creators is what she recognises in performer Diamanda La Berge Dramm. ‘She dares to inhabit the space between genres in a way that doesn’t feel pretentious, but which truly resonates.’ According to Fischer, Diamanda is perfectly in tune with the zeitgeist. ‘She stretches that high art into something my generation actually finds cool. Whereas modern music sometimes gets stuck on an ‘intellectual island’, Diamanda knows how to build a bridge.’
Genevieve Murphy's work It Was Popular has also caught Fischer’s eye. ‘I occasionally come across projects of hers and am instantly drawn to them.’ Murphy’s bold theatrical and visual style appeals to her. ‘It always looks really cool – sharply directed, very colourful, with video and music that immediately grab you. It’s musical, lyrical and visual; she’s a true storyteller. And she doesn’t shy away from contemporary themes.’
‘I’ll be performing my own show again in the coming weeks,’ says Fischer. She is busy writing and storytelling, exploring acting, and taking part in projects by other musicians and theatre makers. And singing? She is back at it occasionally, but for the time being only for herself.
