An artist of great integrity, Nicky Spence trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio. He was appointed an inaugural Harewood Artist at English National Opera in 2011 and has since become ‘one of the finest young singers of his generation’. His great operatic success in the UK has led to important international debuts in houses such as the Opéra de Paris, Théâtre royal de la Monnaie, Oper Frankfurt, De Nederlandse Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera, New York. He works regularly with conductors such as Edward Gardner, Sir Mark Elder, Carlo Rizzi, Andris Nelsons, Maurizio Benini, Donald Runnicles, and Mark Wigglesworth in roles that have included David (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Števa (Jenufa), Alwa (Lulu), Janek (The Makropulos Affair), Steuermann (Der fliegende Holländer), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Iago (Rossini’s Otello), Baron Lummer (Intermezzo), Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress), and Peter Quint (The Turn of the Screw). He has premiered many new pieces, most notably creating the lead role in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys at English National Opera and The Metropolitan Opera. On the recital platform he enjoys collaborating with leading artists of art song such as Malcolm Martineau, Julius Drake, Roger Vignoles, Simon Lepper, Iain Burnside, and Joseph Middleton. His discography includes a recital disc of Shakespeare settings, music by Leoncavallo, Schumann, and Britten, and premieres of works by Jonathan Dove, Pavel Haas, Alun Hoddinott, and Mark-Anthony Turnage. In 2015, Nicky Spence was nominated for Young Singer of the Year at the International Opera Awards and for The Times Breakthrough Artist Award at The South Bank Sky Arts Awards.