I n today's world of itinerant, fly-by-night conductors, Ivan Fischer is a bit of an anomaly. Not just for the stability of his three-decade relationship with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, or the rigorous attention to detail and the equipoise on display in his musical efforts. Rather, it's Fischer's unwillingness to keep his head down — his concern with what happens in front of the footlights — that sets him apart among today's journeyman baton-wielders and répétiteurs. For Fischer, whose career arc began with piano, violin, cello and composition studies in his native Budapest — and who has since held posts at Kent Opera, Opéra National de Lyon, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin — a holistic approach to music and drama is exactly the solution to many of the misguided efforts afflicting modern opera performances. Following applauded performances of Don Giovanni during the 2011 Mostly Mozart Festival, Fischer returns to Lincoln Center this month, where he will conduct the Budapest Festival Orchestra in performances of his own staging of Le Nozze di Figaro. Please, click here to the entire interview