Award-winning singer and vocal performer Nora Fischer is renowned for her adventurous approach to live performance and her creative and genre-defying collaborations. Originally trained as a classical singer, she developed a strong interest in the many other music genres and art forms around her. She learned to use her voice in a wide range of techniques at the Complete Vocal Institute in Copenhagen, nourished her hungry brains by studying Philosophy and Musicology at the University of Amsterdam, and learned to channel her creative performance ideas at the Music Master for New Audiences and Innovative Practices at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. Her very first solo performance, in which she cooked for her audience to create an intimate feeling of coming together, was the starting point of a rich career in which she passionately kept searching for ways of overcoming differences and bringing opposite worlds together. She is most comfortable right at the sweet spot where different music genres and performing arts join forces and forget that they once had strict boundaries. Her “affinity with experimental classical styles and sharp dramatic instincts” (New York Times) have led to close collaborations with world-renowned composers, ensembles and theatre/dance/mime directors such as Louis Andriessen, Simon McBurney and Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad Ensemble, and to solo performances at prestigious venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Lincoln Center in New York and the Philharmonie de Paris. But she also found her way to pop and theatre audiences at Lowlands Pop Festival, WOMADelaide and a mysterious forest at the Oerol Theatre Festival.
Nora is driven by the strong belief that her audience can take more than the comfort zones they are generally given credit for, as long as it’s brought to them in exciting and accessible ways. She brought contemporary music to pop festivals and pop influences to classical venues, always searching for that which connects and is universal. Her award-winning debut album HUSH, which appeared on Deutsche Grammophon in 2018, brought 17th-century music into the singer-songwriter realm, and was received with open arms at squat houses, roof terraces, pop temples, theatre festivals and classical concert halls from Amsterdam to New York – and was hummed along by toddlers as well as 90+ year old’s who joyfully re-discovered their favourite music.
Click here for an article about Nora in the New York Times, or here for an interview with Nora in The Guardian.
In recent years, after experiencing a steadily growing discomfort on stage, Nora has taken a break from the spotlights and replaced them by a quiet room in which she turned to writing. Her very personal reflections of what can best be described as a stifling creative block, eventually found their way into a one-woman show called De Sprong (The Leap). In this grippingly tragic yet humorous monologue, Nora tells the intimate story of her inner world, shining light on those parts of herself she had so carefully tried to hide from the outside eye. De Sprong will be touring The Netherlands in Spring and Summer 2024, and an English version will follow next season. See performances for all dates.
Outside of the stage, Nora is active as a mentor helping young artists to carve out their authentic pathways. She can also be found a lot in Splendor Amsterdam – a musician-led concert venue and creative space – as an active part of the collective keeping this independent art hub vibrant and flourishing.
