A renowned conductor in both the operatic and symphonic worlds, Asher Fisch is especially celebrated for his interpretative command of core German and Italian repertoire of the Romantic and post-Romantic era. He conducts a wide variety of repertoire from Gluck to contemporary works by living composers.

Since 2014, Asher Fisch has been the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO). His former posts include Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Opera (2007–2013), Music Director of the New Israeli Opera (1998– 2008), and Music Director of the Wiener Volksoper (1995–2000).

Born in Israel, Fisch began his conducting career as Daniel Barenboim’s assistant and kappellmeister at the Berlin Staatsoper. He has built his versatile repertoire at the major opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and Semperoper Dresden. Fisch has conducted at leading American symphony orchestras including those of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and Philadelphia. In Europe, he has appeared at the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de France, among others.

Highlights of Asher Fisch’s recent seasons include Les Dialogues des Carmélites, Pagliacci and Schitz at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Carmen and Adriana Lecouvreur at the Wiener Staatsoper, Lear at the Teatro Real de Madrid, Der Rosenkavalier, Lohengrin, Otello and La forza del destino at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Tannhäuser at Opera Australia and at the Tokyo National Theater, Carmen, Die Zauberflöte, and Parsifal at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Ariadne auf Naxos with the Bayerische Staatsoper at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, as well as concerts with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Queensland Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and a gala concert at the Hungarian National Opera.

Asher Fisch’s recent recordings with WASO include Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in 2018, which won Limelight Magazine’s Opera Recording of the Year in 2019, Bruckner’s Symphony No.8 and tenor Stuart Skelton’s first solo album Shining Knight, all of which were released on ABC Classics. Fisch’s recording of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole with the Munich Radio Orchestra won Limelight Magazine’s Opera Recording of the Year in 2017. In 2015, he recorded the complete Brahms symphonies with WASO, released on ABC Classics to great acclaim. His recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Seattle Opera was released on the Avie label in 2014. His first Ring Cycle recording, of the Helpmann award-winning State Opera of South Australia production, garnered praise and awards including the Prix Lauritz Melchior and Académie du disque lyrique Paris. Fisch is also an accomplished pianist and has recorded a solo disc of Wagner piano transcriptions for the Melba label.

In April 2024, Asher Fisch was appointed as the new Music Director at the Tyrolean Festival Erl in Austria.

October 2024