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Nicky Spence is a Scottish operatic tenor known for his vocal and physical stature (right down to his Size 12 feet), his velvety vocal timbre, his open-minded approach to repertoire, and his charisma \u2013 qualities that won the 39-year-old singer this year\u2019s BBC Music Magazine Personality of the Year award.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Dumfries, near the Scottish Borders, where he grew up on a farm.<\/p>\n Although Spence originally wanted to play the trumpet \u2013 and briefly took it up as a child \u2013 his family could not afford to pay for lessons. Luckily a music teacher at his school spotted his talent for singing, which went on to win him the Dumfries and Galloway Young Musician of the Year Award when he was 14, as well as a place in the Scottish Youth Theatre and National Youth Music Theatre.<\/p>\n After a neighbour offered the 15-year-old Spence a spare ticket for Mozart\u2019s The Magic Flute<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>He was hooked.<\/p>\n At the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where, during his final year, he got his first big break, receiving a five-record contract with Universal Classics.<\/span> Within the space of just a couple of years, he released his first album (My First Love), <\/em>was nominated for the \u2018Young British Classical Performer of the Year\u2019 Classical Brit Award, and toured with Katherine Jenkins and Shirley Bassey. He has said that he owes more to Tom Jones than to Pavarotti<\/a><\/strong> in finding his voice. Yet, when the time came to record his second album, Spence turned his back on the <\/span>\u00a31m contract, choosing instead to return to full-time study at the Guildhall to focus on opera.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He has sung in opera houses and concert halls all over the world, with regular appearances at the Royal Opera House and English National Opera. Admitting that he has an aversion to the \u2018rum-ti-tum\u2019 operas of Donizetti and the \u2018sillier\u2019 side of Verdi,\u00a0 Spence has specialised in complex, truthful roles, frequently taking on repertoire by the Czech composers<\/a><\/strong> Leo\u0161 Jan\u00e1\u010dek<\/a><\/strong> and Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k<\/a><\/strong>. He also has an affinity for Wagner<\/a><\/strong>, having appeared in The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, <\/i>Der fliegende Holl\u00e4nder, <\/i>Tristan und Isolde <\/i>and Das Rheingold \u2013<\/i> and has sung a good deal of 20th century repertoire. But he still casts his net beyond classical music, freely professing his love of musicals and often embracing the sounds of Broadway in his work.<\/p>\n Even by A-list singer standards, Spence has a particular talent for keeping busy. Last winter he was one of three mentors appearing on Anyone Can Sing<\/em>, a TV series in which six would-be singers were given guidance by expert vocalists. Even during the pandemic he made every minute count, \u00a0jabbing over 100 people every day as a volunteer in a vaccination clinic.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Hyperion CDA 68282<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Nicky Spence fully\u00a0<\/span>inhabits the drama of this\u00a0<\/span>unusual song cycle, with pianist Julius Drake and mezzo V\u00e1clava Houskov\u00e1 his sultry seductress.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Resonus RES 10116<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This selection of Shakespeare songs by a range of composers from\u00a0Schubert<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Tippett<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>provides a fine showcase for Spence\u2019s versatility.<\/span><\/p>\n Chandos CHAN 10893<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Spence performs songs by\u00a0Debussy<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and lesser-known song cycles by\u00a0Lili Boulanger<\/a><\/strong>, Caplet and Chaminade, with pianist Malcolm Martineau.<\/span><\/p>\n Delphian DCD 34175<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n For this collection of songs closer to Spence\u2019s Scottish roots, his nimble and characterful singing is accompanied by pianist Iain Burnside.<\/span><\/p>\nWhere does he come from?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How did Nicky Spence get into music?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When did opera enter the picture?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Where did he study?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
And since then?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Anything else I should know?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Nicky Spence\u2019s best recordings<\/h2>\n
The Diary of One Who Disappeared<\/span><\/h3>\n
As You Like It: Shakespeare Songs<\/span><\/h3>\n
Paradis sur Terre: A French Songbook<\/span><\/h3>\n
Buxton Orr<\/span>\u00a0Songs<\/span><\/h3>\n