Agnes Nicholls
Agnes Helen Nicholls CBE (14 July 1876 – 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, Nicholls was the daughter of a director of Cavendish House, a prestigious store in the town. 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. Lodging with Visetti and his wife, she began a passionate affair with Visetti's stepdaughter, (Marguerite) Radclyffe Hall, later famed for authoring the groundbreaking The Well of Loneliness. The relationship, Hall's first, was volatile, provoked family argument, and soon ran its course. Hall nonetheless drew on Nicholls and their relationship as the basis for the characters Harriet Nelson and Rosie Wilmot in her novel The Unlit Lamp. During her student years Nicholls 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