Abigail Fischer

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Abigail Fischer
Born
Norwich, Vermont, United States
Occupationsinger

Abigail Fischer is an American mezzo-soprano.

Fischer is known for her commitment to contemporary music, having premiered works by composers Missy Mazzoli, John Zorn, Nico Muhly and Elliot Carter. [1]

Contents

She performed the role of Mrs. X.E. in the world premiere of Angel's Bone , winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music, by composer Du Yun and librettist Royce Vavrek. [2]

Notable world premieres

Critical reception

"...Abigail Fischer, whose throbbing low register and open-hearted performing style reminded me of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson." Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal [7]

"After years of growing up in public, Missy Mazzoli's dreamlike opera lived up to great expectations and made a star of Abigail Fischer." Steve Smith, Time Out New York [8]

Related Research Articles

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Dog Days is an opera by David T. Little, to a libretto by Royce Vavrek after the short story by Judy Budnitz.

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<i>27</i> (opera)

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Du Yun is a Chinese-born American composer, performer, vocalist and performance artist. She won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her opera Angel's Bone, with libretto by Royce Vavrek. She was a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. Du Yun was named as one of the 38 Great Immigrants by the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 2018, and received a 2019 Grammy nomination in the category of Best Classical Contemporary Composition for her work Air Glow. In its decade review, UK's Classic FM listed Du Yun's winning of the Pulitzer as No. 6 in "10 ways the 2010s changed classical music forever." Rolling Stone Italia named her as one of the women composers who defined the 2010s.

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Angel's Bone is an opera by composer Du Yun and librettist Royce Vavrek in one act that follows the plight of two angels discovered on earth who are forced into spiritual and sexual slavery at the hands of a financially troubled couple. The work is a contemporary parable that explores the dark effects behind modern-day slavery, and human trafficking and probes the psyche of traffickers. Du Yun draws her inspiration from a range of musical genres – from classical to punk to the cabaret.

JFK is an opera in three acts by American composer David T. Little, with an English-language libretto by Royce Vavrek. The opera's story is based on the final night of American president John F. Kennedy's life that was spent in at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, prior to his assassination in Dallas, on November 22, 1963.

Breaking the Waves is an opera in three acts by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek. It is based on the 1996 film of the same name by Danish auteur Lars von Trier. The opera was first performed on September 22, 2016, by Opera Philadelphia.

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O Columbia is an opera in three parts by Gregory Spears, with an English-language libretto by Royce Vavrek. The opera's story celebrates the American spirit of exploration and features Sir Walter Raleigh, an astronaut on the Space Shuttle Columbia and the mythological icon Lady Columbia.

Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt is an opera in one act by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek and Mazzoli. It is inspired by the life of Swiss explorer and writer Isabelle Eberhardt.

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References

  1. "Repertoire". Abigail Fischer. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  2. "2017 Winners: Du Yun". pulitzer.org. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  3. Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna da (January 7, 2016). "Review: In 'Angel's Bone,' Terrified Seraphim at the Mercy of Mortals". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  4. "Stormy Waters Decide a Family's Fate". The New York Times. January 10, 2015.
  5. "Review: Song from the Uproar". Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  6. "THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE: A Short Happy Evening of Song with Maira Kalman and Nico Muhly". The New York Public Library. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  7. Waleson, Heidi (February 28, 2012). "Staying in Character". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  8. "The best (and worst) opera and classical music of 2012". Time Out New York. Retrieved September 5, 2019.