Songs for life
Classical singer Elaine Huckle’s successful and vibrant career is testament to her talent, dedication and willpower, as Kate Chapman finds out.
A lifetime of singing and music has brought Elaine Huckle great joy. As well as entertaining audiences, she has used her talents to fundraise and give back to those who’ve helped and supported her throughout her life.
Classical singer Elaine is known for her concerts and oratorio work, which she’s performed across Europe and alongside other renowned singers and musicians including international concert pianists Louis Demetrius Alvanis and Anna Maria Stanczyk and violinist Ayako Yoshida.
She’s released CDs including Toward the Light: The Voice of Elaine Huckle, which was sold for Classic FM in aid of disadvantaged children, and for which she became a Classic FM Hero, and another in aid of cancer charity Macmillan.
“I’ve worked hard to get onto the stage, having come from just an ordinary family,” says Elaine, who lives near Sleaford. “It’s made me think about my faith a lot, and also giving back. Singing has changed my life, I have this voice and I feel that I have to share it and use it. There’s so much trouble all over the world, so if I can help just one person, that’s an amazing thing to be able to do.”
Elaine, who grew up in London, has always been passionate about singing and still recalls her first public performance when she was seven.
“We used to go to North Wembley Methodist Church and I sang ‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful’ as the Angel Gabriel in the Nativity. My parents didn’t know I could sing – they couldn’t quite believe it!
“When I was 12, I sang for all the schools in Wembley, in the town hall, accompanied by a flautist. It was a lullaby composed by my teacher.
“I’ve still got a photo and I look absolutely terrified. Even now I get nervous but when I get onto the stage, I come into my own.”
Talent spotting
Elaine took singing lessons from a tutor of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later joined the Middlesex School Choir. Her parents were keen for her to have a ‘proper job’, so she studied as an engineering draughtsman. Thanks to a contact at her brother’s football club, she found herself singing with a band at venues, including The Dorchester Hotel, Café Royal and Cumberland Hotel. She also took her first solo leads with a number of operatic societies.
Andrew Pryce Jackman and Peter Skellern arranged for Elaine to sing backing vocals for them, on ‘You’re a Lady’ and ‘Softly Whispering I Love You’ in the early 1970s, which culminated with a performance on Top of The Pops.
“That was at the Abbey Road studio, I turned up with these other girls and we sang the music. It didn’t take long, we probably went through it two or three times. Then I had a call from my brother, telling me we were on the radio!” recalls Elaine. “It was a different experience, but a really fun one. I like all sorts of music, but classical is my favourite and that’s what I always come back to.”
Shakespearean actor Sidney Bromley, who was in lodgings next door to Elaine, suggested she return to her studies, and she worked with Mavis Bennett, who taught her a variety of the main arias and roles.
She sang with Pro Musica Chorus, travelling across Europe, performing at the Palau de la Musica, in Barcelona, and the Santa Cecilia Auditorium, in Rome, with the Rome Opera Chorus.
Performing with legends
Elaine says one of her proudest moments came when she was invited to take part in a competition where she was accompanied on the piano by Robert Keys, who previously worked with Maria Callas.
“I’ve never forgotten it,” she says. “He made me a very good singer. I ended up coming second in the competition and afterwards, Robert said there would only be one person who would make it as a singer – and that was me.”
Elaine went on to perform at the Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall, which she describes as great experiences. She continued singing while raising her two children but found that she was suffering with extreme tiredness.
Her health continued to decline, which affected her personal life, and after many years she was diagnosed with coeliac disease. She made the necessary changes to her diet and within six months says she felt much better while her singing improved too.
Having moved to Buckinghamshire, she found her faith was rejuvenated and that’s where she met her husband, the Rev Stephen Huckle. Elaine continued singing in various choirs and auditioned for Birmingham Conservatoire, where she was accepted, working with late répétiteur Stuart Smith and vocal coach Janet Edmunds.
Health challenges
She was dealt another blow in 1997, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer which forced her to take an extended break from singing while she underwent treatment.
“It was hard, and took a while to get over,” says Elaine. “My voice coaches were all absolutely wonderful at the Conservatoire. I cannot tell you how much they helped me.”
As she slowly returned to the stage, Elaine took part in community events and worked with schools to raise funds for Cancer Research and other charities.
In 2004 she made her long-awaited debut at St John’s Smith Square, in London, which marked the start of her career as a professional classical singer.
“It was a wonderful night,” she recalls, “I was stood for 90 minutes, and still not feeling 100 per cent, but I’d been waiting for that night for a long time. It really was a dream moment.”
A move to Birmingham with her husband’s job followed, and then another to Lincolnshire, so Elaine could be geographically located between her son and daughter. All the time she’s continued performing and supporting charitable causes close to her heart.
She has sung with the NHS Band at Christmas at St Botolph’s Church, in Boston, and was asked to sing ‘Nessun Dorma’ for the grand finale of Summer Safari Night at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. She has also performed locally at churches in Great Hale, Billingborough and Folkingham supporting causes including the British Red Cross and Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, and released other CDs in aid of cancer charities.
“I just felt that I was always going to sing,” says Elaine.
“Despite everything that’s happened to me, I just had this feeling, and maybe fate has played a part.
“My family has been a great support, as has my husband, who is a wonderful man.
“I love living here in Lincolnshire, we used to holiday in Sutton on Sea when I was a child. I can still remember riding a pony through the waves! It’s been lovely going back, I still have a friend there who I visit.
“As for my singing, it’s opened so many doors, there are plenty more concerts, and who knows what else, to come!”
To find out more about Elaine and her work visit elainehuckleclassicalsinger.co.uk
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