Linda Esther Gray
Desert Island Discs
BBC
4.4 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 22 October 1983
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Linda Esther Gray, the Scots soprano, made her operatic debut as Mimi in La Boheme with Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1972, and she went on to win the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship and the John Christie Award. But her first big success was as Isolde with the Welsh National Opera in 1978. She also tackles the role of Brunhilde in Valkyrie with the English National Opera.
In conversation with Roy Plomley, she talks about her career and chooses the eight records she would take to the mythical island.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Die Walkure Act 3 by Richard Wagner Book: Anthology of poetry Luxury: Garlic, chocolate and wine
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello I'm Kirstie Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive. |
| 0:05.0 | For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:08.0 | The program was originally broadcast in 1983 and the presenter was Roy Plumley. This week are cast away as the singer, Linda Esther Gray. |
| 0:34.0 | Linda, with what degree of dread does the idea of a desert island strike you? |
| 0:40.0 | Utterly and entirely. |
| 0:42.0 | You think some music would help? |
| 0:44.0 | A little. |
| 0:45.0 | Do you have a big collection of records? |
| 0:46.0 | Well, my husband is a huge collection of records and I sort of share it. |
| 0:50.0 | I'm allowed to play them occasionally if I ask in the right manner. |
| 0:54.0 | And so our record collection at home is more a reflection of his musical taste. |
| 0:59.0 | I don't really like records. I like them just as a record of a performance perhaps but I'd |
| 1:05.7 | rather go to the theater or the concert hall. Well now you've got your eight records |
| 1:10.4 | a very small pile. What's the first one? The first one is Scotland |
| 1:14.2 | the breve and it's played by the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band. I had a |
| 1:18.2 | suspicion that you came from Scotland. Why do you choose this particular record? |
| 1:24.0 | Well, my grandfather was a policeman and we always turned out for the marches of the police |
| 1:29.4 | pipe band and one day I was lost during this occasion. |
| 1:33.0 | I was about two and a half and I was found again behind the drum major |
| 1:38.0 | in the part of the parade. |
| 1:40.0 | So I started off early with my performance. |
| 1:41.0 | Well if you were going to get lost it's not a bad idea to get lost with all those |
... |
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