“Talents of today are carving their names on the eternal tree of the arts. That’s what the 83 year old Terry Riley did more than fifty years ago. Now he’s admiringly watching Nora Fischer.”

“HUSH, an album that is pushing boundaries in the classical music world, is sparking new ideas surrounding innovation and creativity in early music (…) lulls the listener into bliss.”

“Nora’s diction was like a razor sharp blade that cut through her accompaniment. She drove home the need to dig deeper and genuinely let herself go in the moment, which created an overall vocally-maddening-bliss. It was jaw-dropping, raw, and phenomenal to watch and hear everything unfold (…) Her voice was a beacon of light that transformed the music around her (…) masterfully told her stories with a crisp and coherent line of text, her vocal tone illuminated each phrase and gave life to her character (…) selectively used vibrato in her singing and mixed it with an ethereal and soothing tone (…) Displaying a well-trained singer’s agility, she played into the dynamics of each phrase, which emphasized her honesty as a story-teller in a modern song-cycle (…) perfectly crafted screams (…) Everyone was awe-inspired at this point in the song cycle and it was visible how they eagerly wanted more.”

Nora Fischer Bursts the Classical Music Bubble

“The soprano who gave buoyant performances at prestigious concert halls across Europe this season…she produces impeccably turned phrases in a soprano of mountain-stream clarity… sweetly vibrant voice. Likely to have made an impression…making her own way has meant constant invention. The infusion of a little more air, or the tiniest hint of vocal fry on a low note, evokes other musical worlds. Her affinity with experimental classical styles and her sharp dramatic instincts have encouraged composers to tailor works to her. Andriessen compared her to two hyperflexible singers he has worked with: Zavalloni and Berberian. “All have that quality of having a lot of possibilities in their voice,” he said. “They are like composers”

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“Fischer and Dorrestein stripped the arias to their essence, until simple songs remained, which they then lovingly transposed into the 21st century. A restrained electric guitar and a phenomenally beautiful female voice; on Hush those two ingredients turn out to be enough to show how beautiful these songs are.”

“This is the most remarkable disc of the year. With HUSH, nothing is usual…the result swings back and forth between uplifting and touching – always fresh and playful and above all, extremely musical. You might even speak elaborately of a paradigm shift. Fischer doesn’t sing like your everyday classical singer, but does everything else while holding on to her technique – more intimate, and infused with a pop & jazz sensibility.”

“In the centre of this gripping piece [Ayre], soloist Nora Fischer proved an artist who didn’t just sing, but offered a first class performance on the boards of the Gare du Nord. She excelled vocally, and combined intense expression with various styles like classical, sephardic music, tango, and rock music.”

“Nora Fischer is representative of a new approach…crossing thresholds, and a repertoire choice without borders. Her non-conformism is successful. The audience absolutely loves her, and also composers, who love to write for her (from Andriessen to Ter Veldhuis). Fischer sang fantastically…subtlety in colour, sound and expression.”

“demonstrates all genres…an absolute WOW. Everything was spot on… it travelled through grainy post-rock, romantic chamber music, cinematic sound art, a tender love song, dark trip-hop and Led Zeppelin-esque vocal outcries. Nora Fischer – everything but ‘plain’ – proved an enchanting stage personality (especially her voice – natural and with great control), and shaped a fascinating psyche.”

“(…) dwingende podiumprésence, kernachtig vibratoloos en met soms een doelbewust rafelrandje. Adembenemend: zoals Fischer van een kermende lage cis naar een fluisterzachte hoge d zweefde.”

(…) Uiteindelijk maakte Fischer de overstap naar het Complete Vocal Institute in Kopenhagen. ‘In Kopenhagen wordt ervan uitgegaan dat de stem een rijk instrument is, waar je allerlei kanten mee op kunt. Je leert de technisch gezonde manieren om de stem in vele verschillende stijlen te gebruiken. Er wordt niet gewerkt met vaste ideeën over wat mooie en goede zang is en wat niet – de artistieke keuzes liggen juist volledig bij de student. Er heerst een filosofie dat als docenten dingen bij voorkeur afkeuren, er ook geen nieuwe Björks of Thom Yorkes kunnen ontstaan, mensen die juist een heel uniek, afwijkend geluid hebben.’ (…)

“What a voice, what flexibility, what technique and what versatility. What devotion and what temperament! With her voice, Nora wraps you in silk and satin…perfect feel for timing and musical humor. It’s almost not fair to have so much talent.”

“(…) In these excellent performances soprano Nora Fischer is a revelation, both versatile and virtuosic, meshing beautifully with the instrumentalists (…)”

“(…) het aangrijpendste optreden was dat van sopraan Nora Fischer (…) Nora Fischer raakte de ijle, mystieke sfeer in het hart.”

“Met Nora Fischer en Lori Cotler (artiestennaam Loire) heeft hij bovendien twee ongelooflijk goede zangeressen in huis. Zij spelen de rollen van news anchors, die vanachter een desk het nieuws presenteren en natuurlijk ruzie krijgen. Beiden hebben solomomenten die tot de absolute hoogtepunten van de voorstelling behoren. (…) Nora Fischer krijgt applaus als soliste in Headlines, terwijl op de achtergrond het viervoudigde beeld van een vrouwenhoofd is te zien. Op dit soort meesterlijke momenten hap je als kijker en luisteraar naar adem.”

“ (…) Begeleid door Asko|Schönberg vertolkte Nora Fischer de liederen met aanstekelijk esprit, dat de onvergelijkelijke Dawn Upshaw haast deed vergeten. De breekbare uitvoering van Una madre comió asado was adembenemend mooi, met een hees randje aan Fischers engelachtige stem.”