Introducing Nicky Spence

In this video we hear Nicky Spence talk a bit about Saint Nicolas and what makes the work so special – and you'll also hear him singing excerpts from Britten's beautiful arrangement of 'O can ye sew cushions?' https://youtu.be/Pvk448cdY9Q

Nicky will sing the role of Nicolas in the film, expertly telling the story of the patron saint of children, seamen and travellers.

Opera Singer Nicky Spence is one of Scotland’s proudest sons and his unique skills as a singing actor and the rare honesty of his musicianship are steadfastly earning him a place at the top of the classical music profession.

Nicky was schooled locally in Dumfries and Galloway before receiving a scholarship to the Guildhall School as their youngest singer at 17 years old. During his training, he won a record contract with Decca Records before taking a place at the National Opera Studio and latterly a position at the English National Opera as one of their inaugural Harewood Artists. Nicky recently made his role debut as Parsifal with the Hallé orchestra under Sir Mark Elder. Described in The Times this year as ‘a tenor who combines heroic tone and a poetic sensibility that takes the breath away’, Nicky has recorded prolifically and is a regular featured recitalist at the Wigmore Hall, London though he can mostly be found on the International stages of Opera de Paris, Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera, New York.