Agnes Nicholls
Encyclopedia
Agnes Nicholls was one of the greatest English sopranos of the 20th century, both in the concert hall and on the operatic stage.
Born in Cheltenham
in the picturesque Cotswolds
, Nicholls was the daughter of a music-loving draper. She received her early education at Bedford High School where she started singing lessons with Dr H. Alfred Harding. In 1894, she won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music
where her teacher was Albert Visetti. During her student years she took the part of Dido in Purcell
's Dido and Aeneas
, and sang three times in front of Queen Victoria
at private functions.
Nicholls' voice matured into an impressive, dramatic-sized instrument. Her operatic roles ranged from major Wagner and Mozart parts through to the Dewman in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel.
Among her celebrated Wagnerian assumptions were Venus in Tannhäuser
, Sieglinde in Die Walküre
, Brünnhilde in Siegfried
. In 1908, she participated in a notable production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, led by the eminent Hans Richter
.
Nicholls sang with the Quinlan Opera Company during its 1912 tour of Australia. She was a frequent performer at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden
until 1924, and was a principal of the British National Opera Company
, appearing under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham
and other leading conductors of the day. Indeed, in 1904, she married a conductor, Irish-born Hamilton Harty
, who was to become famous as the director of the Hallé Orchestra. Harty was knighted in 1925 and Nicholls was styled subsequently as Lady Harty. He had frequently accompanied her on piano at song recitals, but his health deteriorated in the 1930s, and he and his wife became estranged. Harty died in 1941.
As well as being a conductor, Harty was a composer, and Nicholls was the debut soloist in one of his compositions, Ode to a Nightingale
, which was heard at the 1907 Cardiff
Festival. This work was repeated the same year at The Proms
in London's Albert Hall
. As well as performing in opera and delivering songs, Nicholls sang in many oratorios, including Parry
's Judith
and Bach
's St Matthew Passion. Sir Henry Wood
, the conductor and impresario, described her as "a great artist with a beautiful voice (which) seemed to have been made for Bach's arias".
Nicholls died in London, aged 82, but her pure, strong, well-trained and steady voice can still be heard on a handful of gramophone
recordings of songs and arias which she made between circa 1909 and circa 1921. These have been remastered and reissued on CD in recent years (most comprehensively by Truesound Transfers, catalogue number TT-3041). Unfortunately, none of her Bach, Mozart or Wagner interpretations figure in her short discography. The pre-1925 acoustic recording process found it difficult to capture powerful voices such as the one possessed by Nicholls and, according to discographers, she refused to approve most of her discs for public release because of their inadequate sound.
Born in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
in the picturesque Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, Nicholls was the daughter of a music-loving draper. She received her early education at Bedford High School where she started singing lessons with Dr H. Alfred Harding. In 1894, she won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
where her teacher was Albert Visetti. During her student years she took the part of Dido in Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
, and sang three times in front of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
at private functions.
Nicholls' voice matured into an impressive, dramatic-sized instrument. Her operatic roles ranged from major Wagner and Mozart parts through to the Dewman in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel.
Among her celebrated Wagnerian assumptions were Venus in Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, Sieglinde in Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
, Brünnhilde in Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
. In 1908, she participated in a notable production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, led by the eminent Hans Richter
Hans Richter
Hans Richter may refer to:*Hans Richter , Austrian conductor*Hans Richter , designer of the Volksbühne in Berlin and villa Heller in Ústí nad Labem...
.
Nicholls sang with the Quinlan Opera Company during its 1912 tour of Australia. She was a frequent performer at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
until 1924, and was a principal of the British National Opera Company
British National Opera Company
The British National Opera Company presented opera in English in London and on tour in the British provinces between 1922 and 1929. It was founded in December 1921 by singers and instrumentalists from Sir Thomas Beecham's Beecham Opera Company , which was disbanded when financial problems over...
, appearing under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
and other leading conductors of the day. Indeed, in 1904, she married a conductor, Irish-born Hamilton Harty
Hamilton Harty
Sir Hamilton Harty was an Irish and British composer, conductor, pianist and organist. In his capacity as a conductor, he was particularly noted as an interpreter of the music of Berlioz and he was much respected as a piano accompanist of exceptional prowess...
, who was to become famous as the director of the Hallé Orchestra. Harty was knighted in 1925 and Nicholls was styled subsequently as Lady Harty. He had frequently accompanied her on piano at song recitals, but his health deteriorated in the 1930s, and he and his wife became estranged. Harty died in 1941.
As well as being a conductor, Harty was a composer, and Nicholls was the debut soloist in one of his compositions, Ode to a Nightingale
Ode to a Nightingale
"Ode to a Nightingale" is a poem by John Keats written in May 1819 in either the garden of the Spaniards Inn, Hampstead, or, as according to Keats' friend Charles Armitage Brown, under a plum tree in the garden of Keats House, Hampstead, London. According to Brown, a nightingale had built its nest...
, which was heard at the 1907 Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
Festival. This work was repeated the same year at The Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
in London's Albert Hall
Albert Hall
Albert P. Hall is an American actor.Born in Brighton, Alabama, Hall graduated from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1971. That same year he appeared Off-Broadway in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and on Broadway in the Melvin Van Peebles musical Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death...
. As well as performing in opera and delivering songs, Nicholls sang in many oratorios, including Parry
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
's Judith
Judith (oratorio)
Judith was an oratorio written by Thomas Arne and Isaac Bickerstaff. It was first performed at Drury Lane Theatre on 27 February 1761. It is based on the Book of Judith....
and Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's St Matthew Passion. Sir Henry Wood
Henry Wood (conductor)
Sir Henry Joseph Wood, CH was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundreds of new works to British audiences...
, the conductor and impresario, described her as "a great artist with a beautiful voice (which) seemed to have been made for Bach's arias".
Nicholls died in London, aged 82, but her pure, strong, well-trained and steady voice can still be heard on a handful of gramophone
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
recordings of songs and arias which she made between circa 1909 and circa 1921. These have been remastered and reissued on CD in recent years (most comprehensively by Truesound Transfers, catalogue number TT-3041). Unfortunately, none of her Bach, Mozart or Wagner interpretations figure in her short discography. The pre-1925 acoustic recording process found it difficult to capture powerful voices such as the one possessed by Nicholls and, according to discographers, she refused to approve most of her discs for public release because of their inadequate sound.