Paris-born mezzo-soprano Nora Gubisch brings her flair and charisma to the world’s greatest opera stages, theatres, and concert platforms of today. Beginning her career at just 24 years old, two years later Gubisch made her debut in the title role of Fenelon’s “Salammbô” at the Opéra de Paris. It was around this time Gubisch first worked with the late Sir Colin Davis performing “Romeo et Juliette”, after which Davis invited Gubisch to perform Tippett’s “A Child of our Time”, also performing together on tour.
With a wide repertoire of orchestral song cycles, symphonies and oratorios, Nora Gubisch has performed under the batons of the late Sir Colin Davis, Myung-Whun Chung, James Conlon, Christoph Eschenbach, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Armin Jordan, Lorin Maazel, Kent Nagano, Georges Prêtre, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and with orchestras including New York Philharmonic, Wiener Philharmoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and in France with Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France and Orchestre National de Lyon.
This season, Gubisch opens the concert season of Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie in Brussels, singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 under Alain Altinoglu. She makes her debut with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra with “Bluebeard’s Castle” and returns to Wiener Symphoniker singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the prestigious Musikverein Wien. On the opera stage, she will sing the role of Erda in Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” at Théâtre royal de la Monnaie.
Recent highlights include appearing at the Festival International de Colmar with Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse singing Dvorák’s “Biblical Songs”, and debut appearances with SWR Symphonieorchester and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Other notable engagements include appearances with Orchestre de Paris as Judith in “Bluebeard’s Castle”, a role that is a particular favourite of Gubisch’s, Bamberger Symphoniker at Kissinger Sommer (Rossini’s Stabat Mater), Orchestre de chambre de Paris (Dvořák’s Biblical Songs), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Saariaho’s Adrianna Songs), and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in Berlin.
Having made her Wiener Staatsoper debut as Waltraute in Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung”, Gubisch recently sang Brangäne in Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” in a new production at the Théâtre royal de la Monnaie. Further recent opera highlights include Charlotte at the Liceu Barcelona in Massenet’s “Werther”, Amneris at La Monnaie in Verdi’s “Aida”, and Hedwige in Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell” at Chorégies d'Orange.
As a student in Paris, music brought Nora Gubisch together with fellow student, internationally acclaimed conductor Alain Altinoglu, and in recital the duo regularly performs throughout Europe, most recently appearing at Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad together with violist Gérard Caussé, performing a programme including works by Schumann and Brahms. For the Naïve label they have recorded two critically acclaimed CDs of Ravel “Mélodies” and “Folk Songs”, with “Folk Songs” continuing to hold a very special place in Gubisch’s heart. For Cascavelle they have recorded a disc of Duparc’s “Mélodies”. Her extensive discography further includes Tippett’s “A Child of our Time” with Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and Sir Colin Davis, Dusapin’s “Perelà” with the Opera Orchestre National de Montpellier and Alain Altinoglu, Offenbach’s “Rheinnixen” with Friedman Layer, Humperdinck’s Königskinder with Jonas Kaufmann and Armin Jordan, Kodály’s “Háry János Suite”, Lancino's “Requiem”, Lalo/Coquard’s “La jacquerie”, Victorin Joncières’ “Joncières”, Philidor’s “Carmen Saeculare”, Dubugnon’s “Le Songe Salinas”, Massenet’s “Thérèse”, and Escaich’s “Les Nuits hallucinées” with Orchestre National de Lyon and Jun Märkl.
In 2014 Nora Gubisch was appointed a Chevaliers of the “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” in Paris, where she makes her home with her family.
As of February 2024