Maltese Soprano, Malta Airport Foundation Ambassador and BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation Scholar Nicola Said has an active international career on the operatic and concert stage performing throughout Europe, UK, USA, and the Middle East.
Nicola made her ENO debut as Soprano Angel First Class in Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life, stepping in twice as cover. She has covered the role of Zerbinetta in Opera North’s recent production of Ariadne auf Naxos. She has sung the role of Frasquita in Teatru Astra’s Carmen, directed by Enrico Stinchelli. Having sung a number of operatic roles, including Violetta (La Traviata), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), and Mimì (La Bohème) with Instant Opera in Normansfield Theatre, London, and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Festival Lyrique-En-Mer Belle-Île in France, Nicola recently made her operatic film debut as Madeline in Blat (Reuben Pace). Nicola was also a judge on the new popular TV Show Brillanti, a competition streamed weekly on TVM.
Nicola performed in the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s Malta Summer Festival opposite Vittorio Grigolo, and recorded La Bohème Act I Finale with conductor Gianluca Marcianò.
Nicola is a keen recitalist and has recently performed in a preconcert with Malcolm Martineau as part of The Three Palaces Festival with Festivals Malta, and a recital ‘Songs of a Fairy-Tale Princess’ with Maya Irgalina with Oxford Festival of the Arts. Nicola opened the first Teatru Manoel recital of the 2020/21 season Barber, Bliss and Berg and performed her Maltese Songs Recital as part of the Teatru Manoel Toi Toi.
Nicola is currently under the artistic guidance of Nelly Miricioiu and Juliette Bisazza. Nicola studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Yvonne Kenny, completing the Opera Course on full scholarship after her Master’s in Performance funded by the Malta Arts Scholarship, Government of Malta. She has performed in top venues in the UK, including Cadogan Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Barbican Hall, St John's Smith Square, and the Royal Opera House. She has recorded and premiered Paul Carroll’s works at Abbey Road Studios with Commonwealth Orchestra and has given recitals for HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and at St James’s Palace and Kensington Palace.
Nicola is the Founder and Artistic Director of Malta Opera, a new opera organisation based in Malta. Conceived at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and still in its early stages of development, Malta Opera focuses on engaging and promoting local talent while cultivating international collaborations.