Hailed recently in the Daily Telegraph as ‘a voice of real distinction’, Nicky Spence is currently an English National Opera Young Artist, having trained at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio.

The winner of the National Bruce Millar Opera Prize in 2010, Nicky’s diverse repertoire ranges from Handel and Mozart to Donizetti, Britten and Jonathan Dove, having collaborated with the finest orchestras on some of the world’s most major platforms. A proud Concordia Foundation Artist, Britten-Pears Young Artist, Georg Solti and Samling Scholar, his other awards include the Kathleen Ferrier Young Singers Award, the Concordia Barthel Prize, a Sybil Tutton Award, and a place in the final of the Gold Medal at the Guildhall.

2010-11 also marked Nicky’s debut for some of the UK’s most distinguished opera houses including Opera North, Opera Holland Park, Scottish Opera and English National Opera. His roles include Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress), MacHeath (The Beggar’s Opera), Jaquino (Fidelio) for Opera Holland Park; Lampwick (The Adventures of Pinocchio), and Quint (The Turn of the Screw) for Opera North at the Arcola Theatre London); and more recently Baron Lummer (Intermezzo) for Scottish Opera, which the Independent called a ‘stand-out performance’. This was followed by the leading part of Brian in Nico Muhly’s Metropolitan Opera commission Two Boys, which received its world premiere at ENO and gained him uniformly outstanding reviews.

Recent concert performances include a Britten Song-Cycle Series in Aldeburgh and at Kings Place, a lecture-recital at the Howard Assembly Rooms, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with L’Orchestre National d’Ile de France under Gordan Nikolic, a Gala performance at the Royal Festival Hall and recitals at the Leeds and Oxford Lieder Festivals.

An experienced recording artist, Nicky has recorded for Universal Classics. For other labels he has recorded a disc of songs by Britten with Malcolm Martineau (Onyx Classics) was released in 2011. His release of premiere Hoddinott recordings brought him extensive acclaim.

Future opera plans include the role of Thomas Mason in Jenny McLeod’s opera Hohepa for New Zealand Opera and presented at the New Zealand International Arts Festival, a return to ENO for Novice (Billy Budd) and his Grange Park Opera debut as Chevalier in Les Dialogues des Carmelites.