Rosalind Plowright

Speaker 20:00

Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. For rights reasons we've had to shorten the music. The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen eighty four, and the presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:29

This week, our cast weighs the English opera singer, Rosalind Plowright.

Rosalind Plowright0:33

Bora

Presenter0:34

Rosalind, there's a lot going on in your life at the moment. It seems a bad time to send you to a desert island.

Rosalind Plowright0:41

Yes, I'm very busy at the moment, and uh actually I wouldn't mind a holiday. Maybe a desert island would be nice for about three weeks.

Presenter0:48

Three weeks, not long. Could you endure loneliness? I mean, not just for three weeks, but for a long time if necessary.

Rosalind Plowright0:55

It depends how long. I do enjoy being alone.

Presenter0:58

Have you ever experienced being lonely? I mean, have you ever been in dismal digs with nobody to talk to in a town where you don't know anybody?

Rosalind Plowright1:03

Uh

Rosalind Plowright1:05

Well, I was like that when I first came to London. I had a little flat in the East End, which wasn't actually very pleasant.

Rosalind Plowright1:11

and I I used to go back and spend lonely evenings there.

Rosalind Plowright1:15

I didn't enjoy that, I must confess, I I like being alone in beautiful places.

Presenter1:20

You've got just eight records to cheer you up. Did you find it hard to choose?

Rosalind Plowright1:24

Very, very difficult. But I think I've come up with eight that I could probably live with.

Presenter1:30

Watch the first one.

Rosalind Plowright1:31

Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending.

Presenter1:33

Yes.

Rosalind Plowright1:34

This is because it has a beautiful violin obligato, and I'm very, very fond of the violin.

Rosalind Plowright1:39

I studied it as a child.

Rosalind Plowright1:42

In fact, it it was very difficult to give it up.

Presenter1:45

You never play a toner.

Rosalind Plowright1:47

No, I don't. My singing took over completely.

Presenter1:50

Mm.

Rosalind Plowright1:50

But I enjoyed it while I um studied it, obviously, and I led the school orchestra, and I even played the Bach double violin concerto.

Presenter1:59

Tituna.

Presenter2:00

And of course you played this.

Rosalind Plowright2:00

Because you can't.

Rosalind Plowright2:01

No, I didn't play this. No, but I'm very, very fond of it.

Presenter2:01

No, I didn't play this.

Presenter3:02

The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams, Iona Brown with the Academy of St. Martin and the Fields, directed by Neville Mariner.

Presenter3:10

Where were you born, Rosalind?

Rosalind Plowright3:12

I was born in Worksop, in Nottinghamshire.

Presenter3:15

But you moved about quite a lot as a youngster.

Rosalind Plowright3:17

Yes, before the age of

Rosalind Plowright3:20

thirteen, I think I'd lived in four different places. The family were constantly on the move because of my father's job. What was he doing? Oh, he was uh a shoe shop manager. Mhm. Eventually he became promoted and became an executive with the company, but he's actually still with the company after many, many years hard work.

Presenter3:37

How big a family?

Rosalind Plowright3:38

I'm the eldest of five children and we're all

Rosalind Plowright3:41

Quite musical.

Presenter3:43

Your father was a semi-professional musician, wasn't he?

Rosalind Plowright3:46

Well, no, he was just a very good amateur. He played the double bass.

Presenter3:48

Hey.

Rosalind Plowright3:51

He dabbled in everything, modern, jazz, classical, the lot, and he gave me my first

Rosalind Plowright3:57

Dose of operetta, the Mikado, in in Cheltenham. He was playing the double bass in the orchestra.

Speaker 24:03

Uh

Rosalind Plowright4:03

And he took me along, and I was completely stage struck.

Rosalind Plowright4:07

And it was actually shortly after that that I discovered I had a voice because I imitated

Speaker 24:11

Uh

Rosalind Plowright4:12

The role of Cattisher.

Rosalind Plowright4:14

and um she had a very low, plummy sound.

Rosalind Plowright4:18

and I I discovered that when I made similar sounds I had this incredible volume to my voice.

Rosalind Plowright4:24

And my father said, Sing that again, you know and from then on I began to take it more seriously.

Presenter4:31

And did you play some Gilbert and Sullivan with local companies?

Rosalind Plowright4:35

My very first row was in fact the leading fairy in Ilanthe, but that wasn't until I was fourteen.

Presenter4:42

By that time you were playing in the school orchestra and

Rosalind Plowright4:44

That's right, yeah.

Presenter4:45

Leading school orchestra. Did you see any opera? I mean, grand opera?

Rosalind Plowright4:50

Not until I was about fifteen or sixteen, my very, very first singing teacher, was a student at the Northern College of Music in Manchester,

Rosalind Plowright5:00

and she took me along to see her singing in Traviata, and of course you know then I was really

Rosalind Plowright5:07

opera struck and I thought, This is what I want to do one day.

Presenter5:10

So the violin was your second subject, was it?

Rosalind Plowright5:12

Well, unfortunately I had to give it up completely because the position of the head as it rests on the chin rest i it was not good for the muscles in my neck and and likewise uh my vocal cords, etcetera, etcetera.

Rosalind Plowright5:28

And I had to abandon the instrument completely.

Presenter5:32

Christopher, I I've never thought of that before.

Rosalind Plowright5:34

Well, they said it would be a bad thing. In fact, when I first started singing, I used to sing in my head on one side.

Presenter5:40

Yeah, well they had to stop it.

Rosalind Plowright5:42

You wanna

Presenter5:43

What's your second record?

Rosalind Plowright5:45

Well, again I've chosen

Rosalind Plowright5:47

Chamber music piece, the trout quintet, the fourth movement of the trout quintet.

Rosalind Plowright5:53

Again, with my association with a stringed instrument.

Rosalind Plowright5:56

I think it comes out very clearly in this this movement. And also

Rosalind Plowright6:00

The actual theme itself, The Trout, was the very, very fur first song I learnt.

Rosalind Plowright6:06

At college.

Presenter7:03

The opening of the fourth movement of Schubert's piano quintet in A major, The Trout, Clifford Curzon with members of the Vienna Octet.

Presenter7:11

Well, there you are at Music College. What was the next step?

Rosalind Plowright7:15

After music college I auditioned for the Gleimborn Opera and I became a member of the the Gleimborn Festival Chorus.

Presenter7:25

A lovely way to spend the summer.

Rosalind Plowright7:27

Yes, unfortunately most of the rehearsals were indoors and uh

Rosalind Plowright7:32

One would have preferred to have spent the time rehearsing outside.

Presenter7:35

Yeah.

Rosalind Plowright7:36

It's a very, very beautiful place, Glynbourne, with the gardens, and very inspiring to many singers, and very restful also.

Presenter7:42

And then you joined the Glydbourne Touring Company.

Rosalind Plowright7:45

I automatically became part of the touring company after the festival season had ended. The chorus generally.

Rosalind Plowright7:54

went on to tour the provinces.

Rosalind Plowright7:57

And that was great fun.

Presenter7:58

And after that?

Rosalind Plowright8:00

I started at the London Opera Centre.

Rosalind Plowright8:02

in my first year there because I'd previously won the Peter Suyvesant scholarship.

Rosalind Plowright8:08

to study there for one year and I was rather late starting because I'd been touring with the Glimborn

Rosalind Plowright8:15

Touring company.

Rosalind Plowright8:17

And uh I must admit, my first impressions at the London Opera Centre in the dingy East end of London were

Rosalind Plowright8:24

A far come down from

Rosalind Plowright8:27

what I'd expected and I I was very depressed when I began, having had five weeks touring the provinces with Gleimborn, you know, it was a very different scene altogether. However, I adapted.

Rosalind Plowright8:40

After my year I went back to Glynbourne. In fact, I left early. I left the academic year.

Presenter8:45

Mm-hmm.

Rosalind Plowright8:45

To go back to Glambourne, in fact I couldn't wait to get away.

Rosalind Plowright8:49

And uh Leimborn was really like a holiday for me.

Presenter8:52

And then you were with what, Kent Opera?

Rosalind Plowright8:55

Well, that was all sort of roughly at the same time.

Presenter8:59

and the Welsh National.

Rosalind Plowright9:00

Yes, one thing would lead into another, or else it it would happen at the same time.

Presenter9:05

Yeah.

Rosalind Plowright9:05

I ha actually had very little work at that period.

Presenter9:08

Rosalind, this was a period when you were rather confused and unhappy. You weren't quite sure which way your career was going.

Rosalind Plowright9:15

Well, I think maybe

Presenter9:16

Well

Rosalind Plowright9:17

Mainly I I was just another young struggling singer.

Rosalind Plowright9:22

And there wasn't actually much to offer a young singer beginning.

Presenter9:26

No. I mean you filled in for a while as a singing waitress at Tudor banquets, which must have been amusing in a macabre kind of way.

Rosalind Plowright9:31

He was a gunner macabre.

Rosalind Plowright9:33

Well, actually I I did that in my last year at college because I hadn't got a grant.

Rosalind Plowright9:39

And that helped to see me through.

Rosalind Plowright9:41

I didn't actually pursue it again once my career had begun.

Presenter9:46

Mm-hmm.

Rosalind Plowright9:47

And I had these blank patches. I I really I didn't do anything.

Presenter9:51

Well, in this blank patch, let's uh pause there and have another record.

Rosalind Plowright9:55

Yeah.

Presenter9:56

What's that?

Rosalind Plowright9:56

Well I think if if I were on a desert island

Rosalind Plowright10:00

I'd miss not being able to have a good laugh.

Rosalind Plowright10:04

And one of my favourite funny men was Peter Sellers.

Rosalind Plowright10:08

My father introduced me to Peter Sellers at a very early age.

Rosalind Plowright10:12

when I I'd actually just had a bit of an accident at school and I came home feeling very, very depressed.

Rosalind Plowright10:18

And he said, Listen to this, Rossin, this'll cheer you up and he played me a track of a record that Peter Sellers had just produced. Uh that was called The Best of Sellers. However, what I've chosen is from

Speaker 310:27

However,

Rosalind Plowright10:30

The songs for swinging sellers, and it's a track, The Critics.

Speaker 310:35

The Seven Brave Tractor Drivers, which is being shown as part of the current Festival of Russian Films at Studio Nine, Faith Bradshaw. Well, I'm going to be quite honest about this. I liked it. You liked it? Yes. Yes.

Rosalind Plowright10:43

Uh

Presenter10:48

Yeah, so

Speaker 310:49

Uh

Presenter10:49

Uh

Speaker 310:49

I liked it. You have to be true about these things.

Presenter10:50

Yeah, yeah.

Presenter10:53

Uh

Speaker 310:53

Yeah.

Presenter10:54

There was a certain rugged earnestness combined with subtlety about it that I found wholly irresistible, but wholly irresistible Peter Sellers with Irene Handel.

Speaker 310:54

There was a s

Speaker 310:58

I found

Presenter11:06

Rosalind, you were in the slough of despond. What got you out?

Rosalind Plowright11:10

I had a a good friend, also a singer.

Rosalind Plowright11:13

Who was very encouraging to me. He started his own company.

Rosalind Plowright11:18

The singers' company he called it.

Rosalind Plowright11:20

And he rang me up. I was then living in Liverpool and I hadn't actually performed, I think, for about four or five months, so I was really very low.

Rosalind Plowright11:28

And he said, I'm putting on Cozy Fan Putti. Would you like to sing Fiordoligi? I can't pay you.

Rosalind Plowright11:34

I was so desperate that I said I'd love to sing Fiordigi and while we were rehearsing that summer of nineteen seventy eight it was,

Rosalind Plowright11:44

He said, you know, you ought to go in for the singing competition in Sophia.

Presenter11:48

Sophia Not the place one immediately thinks of, the singing venue.

Rosalind Plowright11:53

No, but in fact it's a very prestigious singing competition.

Rosalind Plowright11:59

It's for young opera singers, and it was actually just what I needed.

Presenter12:01

And it was a

Speaker 212:02

Uh

Rosalind Plowright12:04

and the the whole of the following year I worked very hard towards it, and I studied with my singing teacher, Eric Vittier.

Rosalind Plowright12:12

and I coach with a very good coach at the London Coliseum.

Rosalind Plowright12:16

And eventually I got it all together, and my confidence was high, and my voice had overcome all of its problems. I went along and I walked off with the first prize.

Presenter12:26

Uh

Rosalind Plowright12:27

And ever since then my career has just gone berserk.

Presenter12:27

And that

Presenter12:30

It it is, as you say, a very elaborate competition. How does it work? You have to perform in costume in a particular opera, is that right?

Rosalind Plowright12:38

That happens in the final stage. The first two stages one has to sing.

Rosalind Plowright12:43

arias of one's own choice in a small group.

Rosalind Plowright12:48

And in the final stage you have to perform a complete role in costume with the Sophia Stage Opera. It's a role that you should have done before.

Rosalind Plowright12:59

As it so happened, I'd never sung Leonora Introvatore before, but I'd worked very hard at it, I'd worked with a producer, and I was all set for it. And in fact, their production was a sort that anybody could slot into. You know, the productions over there are not really

Rosalind Plowright13:15

Very complicated, to say the least.

Presenter13:15

Yeah.

Presenter13:18

And uh not surprisingly that's since become a very favourite role of yours, hasn't it?

Rosalind Plowright13:23

Yes, it has. I've um recently recorded it with uh Giulini.

Rosalind Plowright13:28

And uh I've also performed it only the other week in in Hamburg and and Munich.

Presenter13:34

Well, we're jumping ahead. What doors did that Sophia competition open for you?

Rosalind Plowright13:41

Oh, it it opened a whole new world. I met many people there. I I met my

Rosalind Plowright13:46

Manager

Rosalind Plowright13:47

who immediately set up a whole load of auditions for me on the continent.

Rosalind Plowright13:53

and I found that all the doors were open for me. I was very lucky.

Rosalind Plowright13:58

I think the sort of voice I had people were also looking for at that time, and I eventually landed a contract in Bern.

Presenter14:06

Well that was a useful background, wasn't it?

Rosalind Plowright14:08

It was very useful.

Presenter14:09

Let's have another record. We've got to number four.

Rosalind Plowright14:12

Well this is again something

Rosalind Plowright14:14

Completely different.

Rosalind Plowright14:16

From my feel, it it's more in the pop scene.

Rosalind Plowright14:19

Barbara Streison's singing memory from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.

Speaker 214:25

Midnight, not a sound from the pavement Has the moon lost her memory? She is smiling alone In the lamplight, the withered leaves collect at my feet

Speaker 214:50

And though

Presenter14:57

Barbara Streisand singing Memory from Cats. Are things were moving. What were the particular excitements that turned up?

Presenter15:07

At Puccini Festival, you were the first British artist to sing there, weren't you?

Rosalind Plowright15:10

Yes, I was, and at the time I didn't know it.

Rosalind Plowright15:14

It was only during the run of performances I picked up a programme and

Rosalind Plowright15:19

flip through the pages to see the the previous casts that had sung there and they were all Italian. There were a lot of very distinguished uh singers amongst them, Pavarotti, Freini.

Rosalind Plowright15:34

I say all Italian, obviously, Spanish, Russian, Kaipa Vanska, Domingo.

Presenter15:40

Uh

Rosalind Plowright15:40

And I was quite

Rosalind Plowright15:43

Amazed, because here was I, a completely unknown British singer.

Presenter15:47

Yeah.

Rosalind Plowright15:47

I I wasn't even one remotely bit famous.

Presenter15:52

And this was in

Rosalind Plowright15:52

At the time I was really just beginning in the real sense of the word and

Rosalind Plowright15:57

I couldn't understand why I was there singing.

Presenter16:00

This was in Puccini's own home town.

Rosalind Plowright16:02

Torre de Lago was a village where he he did live for a long period.

Rosalind Plowright16:07

For the last years of his life, I believe and he also wrote many operas there. It wasn't his home town, he was not born there. But it nevertheless, for me, it was

Presenter16:13

He was not

Speaker 216:14

Uh

Rosalind Plowright16:17

A great honour to be performing in this festival.

Presenter16:21

Which role did you perform?

Rosalind Plowright16:22

I performed the role of man on Lesko.

Presenter16:26

Now there's a story of you singing Richard Strauss's Addie Adney in Hamburg at very short notice indeed. What was all that about?

Rosalind Plowright16:35

Well, what happened? The soprano of the evening, Leonie Reiseneck, had cancelled at very short notice, and they were very, very desperate.

Rosalind Plowright16:45

In fact, they were thinking of cancelling the opera.

Rosalind Plowright16:48

and I don't think that anybody else was available. They were all singing that night, with the exception of myself, and I was at the time travelling on a train from Frankfurt to Antwerp. I'd actually sung Ariadne the night before.

Rosalind Plowright17:05

and I was on my way to sing a concert in Antwerp.

Rosalind Plowright17:08

And I was

Rosalind Plowright17:09

very comfortably settled in to my seat.

Rosalind Plowright17:13

and the train rolled into Cologne station, and I suddenly heard my name being blasted out over the speakers.

Rosalind Plowright17:20

And I c I couldn't believe it. I thought I was hearing things, you know, Frau Plauerheit.

Rosalind Plowright17:25

Come here.

Rosalind Plowright17:27

And uh I ignored it and the second time I heard it.

Rosalind Plowright17:31

I thought, no, it's definitely me, and I had to drag myself off the train with all my luggage. I was very annoyed about it, because I was so comfortable.

Presenter17:39

And risking not getting to Antwerp is a false alarm.

Rosalind Plowright17:40

So risk.

Rosalind Plowright17:42

That's right, and I thought goodness me, I'd probably have to wait another three hours before the next train, so I was extremely annoyed. And when I arrived at the station master's office

Rosalind Plowright17:51

He asked me to telephone my manager in London, which I did.

Rosalind Plowright17:55

And he said to me, How do you feel? Can you sing tonight?

Rosalind Plowright18:00

And I thought, Well, I'm I'm feeling okay, and I suppose I could sing tonight if I was pushed, he said, Well

Rosalind Plowright18:07

You will be pushed because Leonie Reisenk has cancelled Ariadne in Hamburg, and they want you to do it.

Rosalind Plowright18:13

And at first I thought, well, I can't, you know, I I'm I'm here stranded in

Rosalind Plowright18:18

In Cologne. You know, how do I get to Hamburg? It's miles away.

Rosalind Plowright18:22

Anyway, I had to get the train to Dusseldorf airport and uh from then on it was quite straightforward. And I was met in Hamburg and

Rosalind Plowright18:32

Little did I know that the performance started at the very early time of six o'clock rather than eight o'clock. So I was really sort of thrown on and

Speaker 218:39

Okay.

Speaker 218:40

And what's the problem?

Rosalind Plowright18:44

I was very disorientated so much that I actually forgot my

Rosalind Plowright18:48

opening lines, which was amazing as I'd only just sung it the night before. However, I managed to get it all together and it was actually a very successful evening.

Presenter18:59

Despite the fact you didn't know the moves, you'd never seen the sets.

Rosalind Plowright19:02

No, but it w it's very straightforward. Ariadne actually lies down most of the night on a rock and uh you find that most productions tend to be the same.

Presenter19:12

One rock's very like another.

Rosalind Plowright19:13

Another

Presenter19:14

How are you on languages?

Rosalind Plowright19:16

Well, I struggle a lot with German and Italian. It's getting better, but unfortunately I need to live in the country in order to speak the language, and and I don't, because I love living in London.

Presenter19:29

You're spending a lot of time abroad now, so.

Rosalind Plowright19:32

That's what that time.

Presenter19:32

That's the only thing.

Rosalind Plowright19:34

Yes, maybe one day.

Presenter19:36

Record number five.

Rosalind Plowright19:39

I've chosen the whole of the opera Tristan and Isolde, but I realize we can't listen to it all now.

Rosalind Plowright19:46

And back to God

Presenter19:46

In fact, you can't even choose it all because it's on more than one record.

Rosalind Plowright19:49

One disc, well I would choose the final disc, which includes the Lieberstott, sung by Kirsten Flagstadt.

Rosalind Plowright19:56

For me this is one of the most supreme arias in opera.

Rosalind Plowright20:02

Both musically and dramatically. I find it one of the most inspiring pieces I've ever listened to, and hopefully one day I I will sing it.

Presenter21:08

The Lieberstadt from Wagner's Tristan und Desolde.

Presenter21:12

Kirsten Flagstadt with the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Furtwengler.

Presenter21:17

You have reason to be grateful to the English National Opera, haven't you, Rosalind? You've done some very interesting work with them.

Rosalind Plowright21:23

Interesting.

Rosalind Plowright21:24

They gave me some great opportunities. I think the first was as Miss Jessel in the turn of the screw.

Presenter21:33

That won you a sweater warden?

Rosalind Plowright21:34

That's right. Before then I I'd actually sung only small roles, Valkyries and Pages and

Rosalind Plowright21:42

that sort of thing. But after winning the competition they obviously they treated me completely differently and I went on to do

Rosalind Plowright21:52

Some beautiful rolls with some

Presenter21:53

Yes. You did this demon, huh?

Rosalind Plowright21:55

There's Daemona in Italo, and Elizabeth I. in Mary Stuart, and now Elena in the Sicilian Vespers.

Presenter22:03

Elizabeth and Mary Stuart with Dame Janet Baker must have been excited.

Rosalind Plowright22:06

Yeah, that was a wonderful experience working with a great artist.

Presenter22:12

And you've made your debut at La Scala Milan.

Rosalind Plowright22:15

Yes, that was last year.

Presenter22:17

Some British artists say it's not an easy theatre to become acclimatised in. How did you find it?

Rosalind Plowright22:22

Well, to be honest, I wasn't over the moon about it.

Rosalind Plowright22:27

And I would agree with what you have just said. I was not made to feel welcome at La Scala.

Presenter22:33

Mm.

Rosalind Plowright22:33

Uh nevertheless, the public gave me a lovely reception, so I was lucky.

Presenter22:36

Well that's the important thing.

Presenter22:38

And of course Covent Garden. What was your debut there?

Rosalind Plowright22:42

I debuted there last year with the Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.

Rosalind Plowright22:47

That went very well for me.

Presenter22:48

and a very exciting production of Giordano's Andrea Schenye,

Presenter22:53

You and Jose Carreras just about tore the place up. Very successful.

Presenter22:59

Set of performance.

Rosalind Plowright22:59

Yes, the public certainly seemed to go wild at the end. I think

Rosalind Plowright23:03

with it culminating in this wonderful duet at the very end of the opera, it left everybody very, very high and the audience literally exploded afterwards. Uh if it had ended on a softener, maybe the response would have been different, but

Rosalind Plowright23:19

For us it was a great experience to hear this roar coming from the public.

Presenter23:24

And you mentioned very briefly the Sicilian Vespers, which are singing at the Coliseum, a rather rare Verdi opera. You're having a great time in that.

Rosalind Plowright23:33

Yes, mainly because uh the role of Eleanor is a very, very strong lady.

Rosalind Plowright23:39

And I enjoy playing strong ladies.

Presenter23:41

Very demanding part, very long part.

Rosalind Plowright23:43

Yes, in fact, it's, I think, probably the most demanding role I've ever sung, with the exception of Aida.

Presenter23:49

Right, record number six.

Rosalind Plowright23:51

I have chosen a section of the Verdi Requiem because I have actually performed it many times and I I love the work dearly.

Rosalind Plowright24:02

And I've chosen the recording by Giolini because having worked with him last January

Rosalind Plowright24:08

To me he is the ultimate in conductors and I think to have something of him on disc would be very important for me to take to a desert island.

Presenter25:13

The opening of Verdi's Requiem Mass, Giolini conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus.

Presenter25:20

What happens next, Rosalind? Where do you off to?

Rosalind Plowright25:22

Well, at the end of the Sicilian Vespers

Rosalind Plowright25:25

I'm singing a few performances in Germany, Berlin. I'm singing Aida, Trovatore.

Rosalind Plowright25:32

Also in Munich. Yes. And then I'm singing in the Munich Festival in July.

Rosalind Plowright25:38

Clemenza di Tito. Mm-hmm. And then I think I'm gonna have a holiday if I have time. I think I have a few days actually.

Rosalind Plowright25:46

And then I'm singing Medea in the Buxton Festival.

Rosalind Plowright25:50

And after that I go to San Diego to sing my first traviata. Do you want me to go on?

Presenter25:53

In imaging

Presenter25:54

Well, you've obviously got an awful lot in your book. How important in your career is the concert platform?

Rosalind Plowright26:01

At the moment it's not very important because I am essentially an opera singer and I hope that I will always be remembered as an opera singer because To me the stage and acting and the drama is very, very important. And when I'm on the concert platform, I find it

Rosalind Plowright26:20

Very difficult, because I'm only me.

Rosalind Plowright26:23

And I feel very exposed.

Rosalind Plowright26:27

I like to hide behind a character, and I can't on the concert platform.

Rosalind Plowright26:31

And therefore I'm treading very, very carefully and I'm beginning to do small recitals. My first being in my home in my I say my home town, it's actually the town where my parents are living at the moment, Bridgewater in Somerset. I shall be doing a recital there at the end of June with Geoffrey Parsons.

Rosalind Plowright26:50

And uh hopefully in a couple of years' time I might do one at the Wigmore.

Rosalind Plowright26:55

But it's something that does frighten me a little.

Presenter26:57

Record number seven.

Rosalind Plowright26:59

While I've chosen Maria Callas singing Quila Voce from Y Poritani.

Rosalind Plowright27:06

I've chosen colours not so much for her voice.

Rosalind Plowright27:10

But for what she represents, a great singing actress and

Rosalind Plowright27:17

I can hear drama through her words when she sings, and in in this particular piece I can hear tears in her voice, and and that excites me tremendously.

Rosalind Plowright27:35

Everyone

Rosalind Plowright27:40

Uh

Speaker 227:45

Thank you for saving

Presenter28:26

Maria Calla singing Qui La Bocce from Bellini's Hipporitani.

Presenter28:31

You're on this desert island, Rosalind. How would you be able to look after yourself in a practical sense? Ever done any camping out or anything useful like that?

Rosalind Plowright28:40

I have camped, but I've had the luxury of a primer stove, which I don't think I would have in a desert island.

Presenter28:47

You certainly would on a desert.

Rosalind Plowright28:48

On a desert island.

Presenter28:49

Are you a good cook?

Rosalind Plowright28:51

Yes, I enjoy cooking.

Presenter28:53

Hmm.

Rosalind Plowright28:53

But I don't know what I could do on a desert island with with no utensils and uh

Rosalind Plowright28:59

Having to go out and find my food would be very difficult.

Presenter29:03

Would you try to escape?

Presenter29:05

You're a good skill.

Rosalind Plowright29:05

Yeah.

Rosalind Plowright29:07

I'm a good swimmer, but I don't think I'd get very far, would I?

Presenter29:10

You've done a lot of windsurfing. Could you organize something of that nature?

Rosalind Plowright29:14

I I love windsurfing. It's a great sport.

Rosalind Plowright29:17

But I wouldn't get very far on a windsurfer.

Presenter29:20

Might be a larger island on the horizon, but do take chances.

Presenter29:25

We'll come and fetch you if we can.

Rosalind Plowright29:27

Uh

Presenter29:27

Record number eight, your last.

Rosalind Plowright29:29

I've chosen

Rosalind Plowright29:30

The opening section of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony.

Rosalind Plowright29:35

The reason for this is plainly because I just like it.

Presenter30:35

Part of the first movement of Bruckner's fourth symphony in E-flat major, The Romantic, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Joachim.

Presenter30:44

If you could take only one discard of your aid, which would you choose?

Rosalind Plowright30:48

I think I would take the lark ascending, because the music is very close to my heart inasmuch as it reminds me of England, of my country, Vaughan Williams being an English composer.

Rosalind Plowright31:00

And I'm very, very fond of the English countryside in particular, and I find this music very, very descriptive of just that.

Presenter31:09

And one luxury to take to the island any one thing of no practical use that you'd like to have.

Rosalind Plowright31:14

Well, I did mention earlier that I did like windsurfing, therefore my luxury would be a windsurfer, if I may.

Presenter31:21

Ah, if you may. Now I wonder how luxurious is a winter? Well, as you say, you wouldn't set off into the blue. I mean, you'd only go to somewhere in sight, wouldn't you?

Rosalind Plowright31:24

Yeah.

Rosalind Plowright31:31

Well, I I really wouldn't get very far on it. I can I can tell you that.

Presenter31:33

No, there is a man going right round the British Isles on one at th at this moment.

Presenter31:40

All right, you shall have your wind server.

Rosalind Plowright31:40

Good luck to him.

Rosalind Plowright31:41

You shall have

Presenter31:44

And one book. You have Shakespeare and the Bible. One more book.

Rosalind Plowright31:48

Well, I would take the collected works of William Wordsworth again because many of his poems describe so beautifully.

Rosalind Plowright31:57

My beloved England

Presenter31:59

Right. And thank you, Rosalind Plowright, for letting us hear your Desert Island Discs.

Rosalind Plowright32:04

Thank you very much.

Presenter32:05

Goodbye everyone.

Speaker 232:12

You've been listening to a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. For more podcasts, please visit bbc.co.uk/radio four.