Nazan Fikret was born in the UK to Turkish and Irish parents and is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is a former Making Music AYCA Winner, a Britten Pears Young Artist and a recipient of an International Opera Awards Bursary. As a passionate educator and advocate for Arts in the community, Nazan also works closely with Learning and Participation departments at the major opera UK houses and with other community interest organisations.

In the current season she makes her debuts with Opera North and Opera Poznań as Queen of the NightThe Magic Flute; makes her debut with Buxton International Festival as Madame Herz in Mozart’s The Impresario, and Aristea in Laura Attridge’s adaptation of Pergolesi’s L’Olimpiade for Vache Baroque.

Among her recent highlights are First LadyThe Magic Flute (Welsh National Opera); Queen of the NightDie Zauberflöte (Glyndebourne, Opera på Skäret, Garsington Opera, Nevill Holt Festival); Anne TruloveThe Rake’s Progress, TeofaneOttone, BlondeThe Abduction from the Seraglio, ClorindaLa Cenerentola (English Touring Opera); ArasseSiroe, re de Persia and Handel’s Messiah (Nederlandse Reisopera); and Elin Agreed, a new community opera (Glyndebourne).

Nazan made her operatic debut at the age of thirteen singing FloraThe Turn of the Screw in Elijah Moshinsky’s production at Wilton’s Music Hall. She went on to sing the role across Europe at venues including Aix-en-Provence, La Monnaie, Le Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Theater an der Wien, Nederlandse Reisopera, English National Opera and Teatro Real.

Her operatic roles include Diane DisneyThe Perfect American by Philip Glass (world première at the Teatro Real and for English National Opera); NinettaLa Périchole (Garsington Opera); FiordiligiCosì fan tutte (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / European Opera Centre); How the Whale Became by Julian Philips (Royal Opera House); EuridiceOrfeo ed Euridice (Longborough Festival Opera); Madame HerzThe Impresario (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Queen of the NightThe Magic Flute (Wexford Festival Opera, Rota das Artes, Lisbon); and GovernessThe Turn of the Screw (Seastar Opera). Roles covered include WendyPeter Pan by Richard Ayres, and AngelikaFigaro Gets a Divorce by Elena Langer (Welsh National Opera); FiorillaIl turco in Italia (Garsington Opera); and Queen of the Night (English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera).

In 2021 Nazan appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In-Tune for International Women’s Day, performing the world premiere of works by Ella Jarman-Pinto with duo partner Rebecca Cohen; on In-Tune in The Lads in their Hundreds, in concert with Iain Burnside; sang the soprano solo for the Turkish Hymn (Arditi) for the Turkish Presidential visit to London. Her concert appearances include Handel Messiah (Theatre Carré, Amsterdam) and recitals for Oxford Lieder, as a finalist in the Das Lied competition and as a Making Music Young Concert Artist. She also performed as a soloist aboard HMS Havengore for the Queen Elizabeth II’s Official 90th Birthday River Pageant.