Haunting tale of The Flying Dutchman gets a Scottish twist.

Rupert Christiansen meets opera newcomer Rachel Nicholls as she prepares to sing in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer.

Although we couldn't know it at the time, only 48 hours after I spoke by phone to Rachel Nicholls she would be opening in the most talked-about opera production of the year. English National Opera's revival of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) has earned a storm of praise and a slew of five-star reviews, including one from WhatsOnStage. Not bad for a near-six-hour comic opera.