Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010 - Felicity Lott

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the soprano, Dame Felicity Lott. She is one of Britain's best known and best loved singers and has given performances in opera houses the world over under the batons of such notable conductors as Bernard Haitink, Carlos Kleiber and Georg Solti.

As a child, she had always loved singing, but was, she says, a shy, gawky girl who didn't have sharp enough elbows to get to the top. She tried her hand at teaching, but found she was so crippled with nerves that she had to abandon the idea. By good fortune she was delivered to a singing teacher who spotted her talent and gave her encouragement. It was exactly what she needed - she has enjoyed a career spanning more than 30 years and over that time has won a large and loyal army of fans.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Moonlight Music - the prelude to the final scene of Capriccio by Richard Strauss
Book: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Luxury: Lots of champagne and pistachio nuts.

Published on Sunday, 13th July 2008.

Available Podcasts from Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010

Subscribe to Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010 webpage.