Tenor Nicky Spence renounced a flourishing career as a crossover singer to build a presence in opera. He has appeared widely in opera houses around Britain, the U.S., and continental Europe. Signed to the Universal Classics and Jazz label, which wanted to bill him as "the Scottish tenor," Spence released his debut album, My First Love, in 2006. At that point, however, Spence unexpectedly rebooted his career, enrolling in a traditional opera studies program. He created the role of Brian in Nico Muhly's opera Two Boys in 2011. He has appeared on recordings for several labels, notably in two volumes of folk song settings by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 2020 and 2021. During the pandemic of those years, Spence served as a volunteer vaccinator.