Biography

Nicky is an international set and costume designer. She trained at West Sussex & West Surrey Colleges of Art & Design and works mainly in opera.

Nicky has designed productions for many leading opera companies, both nationally (including, Royal Opera House; Scottish Opera; Welsh National Opera; Glyndebourne Opera and Garsington Opera) and extensively in Europe (including, Royal Danish Opera; Danish National Opera; Royal Swedish Opera; Komische Oper; Frankfurt Oper; Mariinsky Theatre; and Théatre Royal de la Monnaie), as-well-as productions in Seoul, South Korea (Opera Theatre and Towol Theatre). Many of her collaborations have won or been nominated for opera awards.

Most recently Nicky has designed, City of Humanity, a new opera, part of Malta European Capital of Culture; Un Ballo in Maschera (costumes), Grange Park Opera; Enchanted Island, a UK premiere for British Youth Opera; Madama Butterfly, Glyndebourne Festival

Dead Man Walking is a deeply moving modern opera based on the novel by Sister Helen Prejean, a leading advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. Made famous by the film of the same name, it is the story of a man on Death Row in 1980’s America. Composed by Jake Heggie, this was a new production for Royal Danish Opera. Their commission being for a ‘straight’ take on the story to be set where written and not abstracted to other contexts.

The opera’s specific challenge being it is set in a multitude of different settings with tens of different scenes, often moving quickly between them. We decided on using a revolve to aid the literal journey through the piece, on which I devised a large sculptural structure that could be performed in font of, from within different spaces and moved through, both whilst turning and stationary.