Reviews

“With her dramatic tumble of red hair and cello-mellow voice, Ms. Fischer sings with a passionate restraint that has no equal in her generation. You didn’t want her to stop.”

“Missy Mazzoli’s dreamlike opera lived up to great expectations and made a star of Abigail Fischer.”

“Gracefully androgynous, mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer makes for a SPELLBINDING heroine. Her throbbing, claret voice turns raw with pain against the blistering sound of the electric guitar when she learns of her husband’s betrayal, and her face glows from within as she hails the “blanket of blazing stars” ready to welcome her in death.”

“Abigail Fischer sang with a suppleness and intensity that emphasized the meditative qualities and underlying drama”

“Missy Mazzoli’s opera “Song From the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt,” in its world-premiere engagement at The Kitchen, was also centered on a very potent singer, mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer, whose throbbing low register and open-hearted performing style reminded me of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.”

“Fischer was lustrous and assured.... She made a lovely sound with beautifully supported legato. If you didn’t know that she’d stepped in at the last minute, you’d never have guessed.”

“Abigail Fischer’s rich, strong voice, capable of both wistful sweetness and sultry urgency, was well suited to the demands of the text”

“Abigail Fischer sang Benjamin’s ‘Upon Silence’, a Yeats setting, with SPIRITUAL FIRE.”

“If the “Song From the Uproar” selections felt most urgent, that was largely because of the involvement of the serenely captivating mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer, for whom Ms. Mazzoli wrote the piece and who invested everything she sang with rapt concentration and velvety, even tone. And disarming intimacy, too: Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,” in George Lam’s arrangement for voice, piano and clarinet, might have been a cabaret torch song. ”

“Eberhardt’s indomitable spirit was channeled through mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer’s yearning, burning voice and transfixing physicality. Her phrases were voluminous but expertly restrained, and she ascended octaves as easily as a bird taking off.”

“Abigail Fischer captures this role with astonishing force even though she barely moves. The vocal richness, covering a wide range in both pitch and intensity, focused the viewer’s attention on her throughout.... The individual songs range from elegies and poignant laments to vigorous assertions of personality and energy, and each mood and character was superbly delineated by Abigail Fischer.”

“One of the highlights of the evening was Abigail Fischer, whose Cherubino was nothing short of stunning. She commandeered a perfect balance of ornamental ease and velvety legato that made me want to listen for hours. Although her Act 1 aria was beautiful, her aria in the second act is one that will leave you breathless. One particular note of longing (for Inez) was so powerful that it reverberated in my sternum. Fischer has given us a heartfelt and mature Cherubino, a far cry from the boy we knew before. Her performance was outstanding.”

“Outstanding in the cast was Abigail Fischer, a mezzo with abundant red hair — and many other gifts. She has an unusual, arresting voice, a solid technique, and plenty of musical smarts. She managed to be elegant and spunky at the same time.”

“Abigail Fischer is a RIVETING protagonist. In the emotional efficacy and irresistible magnetism of Ms. Fischer’s performance and in the electric surge of Ms. Mazzoli’s score you felt the joy, risk and limitless potential of free spirits unbound.”

“Fischer has a THRILLING and DISTINCTIVE voice and gives her all in a committed, vocal performance.””

“The undisputed star was the brilliant Abigail Fischer, as Eberhardt. She embodied her character’s restless spirit with a lush, plangent mezzo-soprano incorporating every emotion from anticipation to resigned acceptance.”

“Abigail Fischer, in the central role of Cherubino, was the vocal standout of the evening. Fischer has a distinctive timbre and impressive range, and sang with dynamic and dramatic nuance. She also incarnated Cherubino’s impishness delightfully, with swagger that was a pleasure to watch. Her Act II aria was a highlight of the evening, enveloping us all in Cherubino’s dreamy tenderness.”

“Ms. Fischer’s performance is pure brilliance... Ms. Fischer sounded completely comfortable with both its range and ornamentation. She has power and flexibility to burn and respectable acting chops as well — a fine performance all the way around.”