Main content

Dame Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano

Dame Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano, shares the eight discs, book and luxury item she would want with her if cast away on a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

The mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly has sung at the most prestigious venues around the world, including the Royal Opera House, London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as Glyndebourne, Vienna and Bayreuth. In 2009 she was a soloist at the Last Night of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Proms, singing Rule Britannia dressed as Admiral Nelson, and she has also made a name for herself taking on male or so-called β€œtrouser roles” in opera, including Handel’s Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar).

As a child, she was an outstanding pianist with a passion for classical music and jazz. After studying piano and voice at the Royal College of Music, she decided to become a singer. She was a member of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Singers for five years, before taking the leap and seeking work as a soloist.

She took a break from public performance in 2019 to have treatment for breast cancer, but has now resumed her career.

She was made a DBE in the 2017 Birthday Honours and last year she became an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, recognising her outstanding services to music.

DISC ONE: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
DISC TWO: Handel: L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed il Moderato, Part III: As steals the morn. Performed by Mark Padmore (tenor), Lucy Crowe (soprano) and The English Concert, conducted by Andrew Manze
DISC THREE: Rebel Rebel by David Bowie
DISC FOUR: Blue In Green by Miles Davis
DISC FIVE: Embroidery in Childhood (Act III, scene 1) Composed and conducted by Benjamin Britten. Performed by Claire Watson (soprano) and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
DISC SIX: Schubert Winterreise : Das Wirtshaus, performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) and Gerald Moore (piano)
DISC SEVEN: Wagner - Der Ring : Keilberth, Bayreuth live, 1955. Act 3 Die WalkΓΌre, Denn einer nur freie die Braut. Performed by Hans Hotter (bass-baritone) and Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
DISC EIGHT: Symphony Number 3 in D minor Mahler 3 : Mov’t 6, Ruhevoll- Empfunden (what love tells me) Performed by Vienna Philharmonic and conducted by Claudio Abaddo

BOOK CHOICE: The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter
LUXURY ITEM: A grand piano with a tuning kit
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wagner - Der Ring : Keilberth, Bayreuth live, 1955. Act 3 Die WalkΓΌre, Denn einer nur freie die Braut. Performed by Hans Hotter (bass-baritone) and Bayreuth Festival Orchestra

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Available now

38 minutes

Last on

Fri 15 Oct 2021 09:00

Music Played

  • Led Zeppelin

    Stairway To Heaven

    • Led Zeppelin IV (Deluxe Remastered).
    • Atlantic.
    • 4.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Handel: L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed il Moderato, Part III: As steals the morn

    Orchestra: The English Concert. Singer: Mark Padmore. Conductor: Andrew Manze.
    • As Steals the Morn…Handel.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • 18.
  • David Bowie

    Rebel Rebel

    • Changesonebowie.
    • Parlophone UK.
    • 8.
  • Miles Davis

    Blue In Green

    • Kind Of Blue.
    • Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd.
    • 3.
  • Benjamin Britten

    Embroidery in Childhood (Act III, scene 1)

    Singer: Claire Watson.
    • Britten: Peter Grimes.
    • Decca.
    • 39.
  • Franz Schubert

    Schubert Winterreise : Das Wirthaus

    Performer: Gerald Moore. Singer: Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau.
    • Schubert* - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore – Winterreise.
    • EMI Classics.
    • 21.
  • Richard Wagner

    Wagner - Der Ring : Keilberth, Bayreuth live, 1955. Act 3 Die WalkΓΌre, Denn eine

    Singer: Hans Hotter. Orchestra: Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Joseph Keilberth.
    • Wagner - Die WalkΓΌre.
    • Testament.
  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony Number 3 in D minor: Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden

    Conductor: Claudio Abbado. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic.
    • Mahler: Symphony No.3.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 13.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 10 Oct 2021 11:00
  • Fri 15 Oct 2021 09:00

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast