The Sunday Times Culture - UK (2021-11-14)

First album I bought

Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were

Here. I’m probably lying, but if

I said Sinitta, you’d judge me.

First concert I went to

Embarrassingly, my own. It

was at the Water Rats, King’s

Cross, in 2001. I came straight

from Hyde Park Barracks still

in half my ceremonial

uniform as I’d been on duty.

I’m a posh nob, so the room

was stacked with blonde

girls from Chelsea sitting on

pashminas, and my mate

Billy had come stocked with

joints to pass round, as he

thought it would help. It was

just me on a guitar and my

sister on backing vocals. I’m

actually playing the same

venue to launch my greatest

hits album. I wanted to call it

“Greatest Hit (and Songs I

Wish You’d Heard)”, but the

label was having none of it,

so it’s called The Stars

Beneath My Feet (2004–

2021). It comes out the same

day as Adele’s album, so she

must be bricking it.

First rock star I admired

Freddie Mercury. I was at

Harrow School and we could

hear Live Aid from the Hill.

It felt like the concert was his.

I don’t sing or perform like

him, but I do recognise the

freedom the stage gave him.

He seemed so comfortable

and uninhibited up there. It

takes courage to completely

reveal who you are in front

of thousands of staring eyes,

but there’s great liberation in

it too. Kind of like being on

a nudist beach.

First book I loved

The Story of Ferdinand by

Munro Leaf. It frightened me

that a creature so charming

and gentle should be so

misunderstood and abused

so badly by the baying

crowd. At the end I literally

wept with joy to see

Ferdinand’s warmth win

them over and secure his

release.

First film that made a

profound impact on my life

Forrest Gump. I’m serious. It

had a clear message — with

enough naive conviction,

you can be whatever you

want to be.

First song that I learnt to

play an instrument to

I picked up the electric guitar

when I was 14 and all I

wanted to learn was the

Money for Nothing riff by Dire

Straits. You all mock them

now like they’re not cool,

because you’re sheep, but

they were amazing. The

second song I learnt was the

Sultans of Swing solo — by

Dire Straits. The third was

Brothers in Arms...

First pop-inspired fashion

trends that influenced me

Although I’m a fashion icon,

I’ve never really followed

any trends — more set them.

I bought pink jeans as a

teenager, and tight lime-

green flares with daisies on

them. My favourite top was

a purple hoodie from LSU,

which I changed with

Tippex to change to LSD.

That’s the university of life. I

lost all those clothes in a car

crash when we hit a lorry at

90 miles an hour in a

Peugeot 205 GTi. The car

tumbled down the road and

caught fire. I wasn’t driving,

by the way. c

The singer tells

Dan Cairns about

going up against

Adele, being a

fashion icon and

his admiration for

Freddie Mercury

MY CULTURAL

FIRSTS

JAMES BLUNT

Nuremberg in 2015. This role is perhaps

the Wagnerian antithesis of Brünn-

hilde, a lyric role, occasionally sung by

light Mozartians, though ideally it

needs some heft for Acts II and III. By

curious coincidence it was a baby-steps

part for at least three British Wagneri-

ans who triumphed as Brünnhilde:

Gwyneth Jones (Bayreuth’s protagonist

from 1975-1981 in the Patrice Chéreau

staging), Evans (who succeeded Jones

in Harry Kupfer’s 1989-1992 Bayreuth

production) and Jane Eaglen

(who sang the role at Seattle

Opera and the Met).

Could Nicholls go on to fol-

low in their footsteps? At first

sight it might seem implausi-

ble. With her slight frame she

doesn’t look like a robust heroic

soprano, but at 46 she is a slow-

burner. She’s a versatile, out-

standing musician who jumped in

at short notice recently for very dif-

ferent assignments: Wolf ’s Italian

Songbook at the Wigmore Hall and

Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage

at the Royal Festival Hall.

Her voice is a big, shining,

essentially lyrical instrument

that has served her well as

Wagner’s Isolde — which

she sang in Paris, Rome

and Frankfurt after Longbor-

ough — Strauss’s Salome and

even his “killer role”, Elektra.

Having sung Valkyrie in Ger-

man, Nicholls is now working

with ENO’S new English translation by

John Deathridge. “I’m delighted to be

doing it in English,” she says, “and it’s

great that John has continued to work

on it with us as we’ve gone through the

rehearsal process. He’s been very open

to our suggestions.”

Whatever one thinks of singing opera

in translation — and it remains a hotly

debated issue — the Ring undoubtedly

benefits from an elucidation of the

fast-moving narrative. There’s a story

to tell; more so than, say, Tristan und

Isolde’s more philosophical-poetic

unfolding of a more limited action.

Evans, who, like Nicholls, has sung

both operas, strongly believes that

the Ring works better than Tristan

in English. Nicholls agrees.

“If I had my own way I would

always want to sing in the lan-

guage the audience understands.

Singing the Ring in English to

the potentially much younger

demographic that ENO is keen to

attract with its pricing policies is

the right thing to do. It’s great.” c

The Valkyrie, London Coliseum,

London WC2, Nov 19-Dec 10

YRIE RIDES AGAIN

Ringing true

Rachel Nicholls

and, top, as

Brünnhilde at

Longborough

in 2012

Singing

the Ring in

English is the

right thing to

do. It’s great

| MUSIC