Spotlight on Nicky Spence: Headliner at Thaxted Festival

26/02/2025

Image © Ki Price

Thaxted Festival is delighted to welcome Nicky Spence, one of the most exciting and celebrated tenors of our time, to the 2025 season. A charismatic performer with a voice that captivates audiences worldwide, Nicky’s extraordinary talent and engaging stage presence make him a must-see artist this summer.

A Voice That Transcends Borders

Winner of the BBC Music Magazine Personality of the Year 2022, Royal Philharmonic Society Singer Award 2024, and recently honoured with an OBE for services to music, Nicky Spence has become a force in the classical world. Whether performing at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, or the Paris Opera, his ability to bring depth and emotion to his roles has earned him international acclaim.

Known for his exceptional interpretations of Janáček’s music, Nicky has also taken on major Wagnerian roles, including his recent debut as Parsifal with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder. His recordings have won numerous accolades, including Gramophone’s Solo Vocal Award and the BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award.

Beyond the opera house, Nicky is on a mission to make classical music more accessible. He has reached new audiences through TV programmes like Anyone Can Sing and Sing When You’re Winning on Sky Arts, and as the host of ENO’s podcast, Opera Actually.

A Personal and Powerful Performance at Thaxted Festival

🎵 My Father’s Son – Sunday 22 June 2025, 6.00pm

For his Thaxted Festival recital, Nicky presents a deeply personal programme exploring father-son relationships. Featuring music by Schumann, Fauré, Howells, Victoria Wood, Tim Minchin, André Previn and more, the evening promises an emotionally charged journey through song. He is joined by pianist Dylan Perez, his husband and long-time musical collaborator, making this performance even more intimate and special.

Experience Nicky Spence Live

Nicky come straight to us from taking the lead role in Britten’s Peter Grimes with Welsh National Opera in Cardiff and on tour from April. The Guardian’s 6 April review by Rian Evans praised the production and said:

'Spence finds vocal colours to reflect the complexities of Grimes’s character and his outsider’s otherness; his aria Now the Great Bear and Pleiades has a luminous intensity.'

Times reviewer Richard Morrison said:

'…there’s no questioning how Spence uses his superb voice to convey every harrowing moment of Grimes’s’ descent.'

We are so fortunate to have such a major talent at Thaxted Festival this year. A marvellous entertainer, his programme will range from classical to contemporary, from deeply thoughtful to the lightest humour. You can get a taste of his range from the two videos below.

🎟️ Discover more about this performance and the full festival programme here: Thaxted Festival Events Page

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