Asher Fisch Signs Melba Ring CD

Fisch conducted Wagner’s Ring for the first time in Adelaide, Australia, for the State Opera of South Australia in 2004. His conducting of the four operas and Melba’s recording has earned such praise as “epoch-making” (High Fidelity Review) and “among the front-runners of recorded Ring conductors.” (MusicWeb International)

Fisch is well-known to Seattle Opera audiences, having recently won a Seattle Opera Artist of the Year award for his conducting of last season’s Der Rosenkavalier and the 2006 International Wagner Competition. He is currently conducting Wagner’s Flying Dutchman for the company.

The music director of the New Israeli Opera and a native of Jerusalem, Fisch made his Seattle Opera debut conducting Wagner’s Parsifal in 2003 for the company’s first opera in the newly opened McCaw Hall. His many engagements include conducting operas at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vienna Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Dresden’s Semperoper. He makes his Teatro alla Scala debut in 2008.

The Amusements gift shop at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Avenue, will be offering the Melba recording of the Australian Ring for sale. Prior to the performance on August 17, Fisch will be available to autograph copies of the Ring CD from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Amusements gift shop is open to the public through the main lobby of McCaw Hall and tickets to the performance are not required to attend this signing. -- www.fwopera.org