… from one glasse to another. Day 1.

Doors 7pm, performance at 7.30pm

This event has unreserved seating on ground floor and balcony level. 

A grippingly tragic yet humorous storytelling performance by Nora Fischer. Day 1 of '...from one glasse to another', a transdisciplinary festival of voice and video curated by Sam Belinfante and Musarc.

Nora Fischer performs The Leap.

The Leap is a one-woman performance by vocalist Nora Fischer, except for the unexpected twist that Singer Nora will not be present on stage. Instead, Person Nora will be explaining why she will not be singing. For a while, she was unable to do so because of a complex cramp that was keeping her larynx in such a strong headlock that even Happy Birthday for her best friends was no longer an option. How could such a thing happen?

With this burning question, Nora starts digging for answers: from the pressure of the world's largest stages, to the inner pressure that she had to remove from her system like a wasp's poisonous sting. She unravels how the joy with which she once produced her frst notes, gradually got overshadowed by piercing eyes and razor sharp judgments. There is no shortage of demons behind the successful performer she had become – and among those demons is Nora's sister, who falls deeper and deeper into darkness as Nora's voice falls into silence.

But Nora is not the type to simply give up: there is a reason her parents used to call her “The Tank”. In the midst of the ruins, she demands answers: how can the radiating joy with which two girls started their lives, evolve into such an all-encompassing cramp? Who told us to get so caught up in suffocating perfectionism? In this grippingly tragic yet humorous storytelling performance, Nora invites her audience to join her in a highly intimate disclosure of what we secretly all know: nothing is what it seems.

The Leap is presented by Musarc as part of a transdisciplinary festival of voice and video.

… from one glasse to another explores the myth of Echo and Narcissus in relationship to voice, performance and technology, where recent translations and reformulations, reveal nuanced and radical approaches to both gender and audio-visual phenomena. Curated by Sam Belinfante.

Credits
Nora Fischer (text and performance)
Nina de la Parra (final directing)
James Murray (lighting design)
Jan Heideveld (sound design)
Nada Mounzer (visual advice)
Titus Muizelaar (coaching and advice)
Joost de Haas (artwork: photography and design)

For a decade and a half, Nora Fischer was a highly successful and award-winning singer, touring the world with her adventurous and creative approach to live performance. She appeared at prestigious venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall, London’s Barbican Centre, and LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall, but also at pop festivals such as Lowlands and WOMADelaide, at squat houses and roof terraces – collaborating closely with iconic artists and ensembles such as Pierre Audi, Simon McBurney, and Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad Ensemble. Until she got completely stuck and couldn't sing one note anymore. After disappearing for a while from the public eye, Nora reinvented herself as a writer and storyteller. She reappeared on stage in 2024 with her one woman show The Leap, in which she told the story of how she fell prey to high pressure and suffocating perfectionism. The Leap was received with unanimous praise, and led to several invitations to write a book version of the story. This book – Hoogspanning – was released in November 2025 with renowned publisher Pluim. In that same month, the documentary about her journey – Nora speelt Nora – was broadcast on Dutch national TV.

Musarc is one of the UK’s foremost experimental choirs. The ensemble has developed a distinct reputation for its interdisciplinary and research-led approach to music and performance, and the space it affords artists and singers to experiment with new ideas. Since its inception, the choir has collaborated with more than 130 artists and composers, including Jennifer Walshe, Keiji Haino, Jay Bernard, Lin Chiwei, Laure Provost, Ed Atkins, Lina Lapelytė, Jack Sheen, Imogen Stidworthy, Neil Luck and many others; and numerous festivals and arts organisations in the UK and abroad – including the Artangel, Tate Britain, ICA Institute of Contemporary Arts, Northampton Contemporary Arts, BBC Proms, London Contemporary Music Festival, Post Disaster (Taranto, Italy), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), the Royal Academy, CCA Goldsmiths, Museum of London, Serpentine Gallery, MK Gallery, Wysing Polyphonic, Cafe OTO and Bold Tendencies. musarc.org 

“The Leap, her first performance as a storyteller makes a huge impact (…) She lifts you up and carries you along, over mountains and through valleys, and then she plunges you in the river.” - De Theaterkrant

"Nora Fischer Bursts the Classical Music Bubble… she produces impeccably turned phrases in a soprano of mountain-stream clarity… sweetly vibrant voice. Likely to have made an impression…making her own way has meant constant invention." - New York Times

Stone Nest is an arts organisation and performance venue in the heart of London's West End, bringing exceptional and experimental art to a wide audience. A hidden gem nestled amidst the bright lights of theatreland, it offers a platform for bold, visionary artists and a space where audiences can encounter an eclectic programme of contemporary performance.

Stone Nest is an old building and, unfortunately, cannot currently accommodate electric wheelchairs. We can accommodate manually operated wheelchairs via a temporary ramp; please let us know that you are a wheelchair user when booking and whether a Companion will be accompanying you, and we will arrange a Companion ticket for you.

Image Credit: ©Nora Fischer - The Leap