Belgian composer Nicholas Lens, best known for his operas, has gradually moved from accessible, crossover works to more "serious" composition. Well-regarded in the classical world, he became known to popular music fans through his collaborations with Bad Seeds frontman Nick Cave.
Born Nicholas Lens Noorenbergh in 1957 in Ypres, he began learning violin when he was five. He later studied trumpet, double bass, and viola da gamba, and attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. Lens debuted in 1989 with his score to the Vietnam War movie Cruel Horizon. He came to inter...