Agnes Nicholls

Agnes Nicholls (14 July 1876 [some sources say 1877] – 21 September 1959) 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.