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Episode details

Radio 4,16 Aug 2009,45 mins

Roberto Alagna

Desert Island Discs

Available for over a year

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer Roberto Alagna. He is one of the most celebrated tenors in the world and one half of opera's golden couple; his wife is the soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Yet, his is not a voice that was honed through early years in a conservatoire. He was brought up in Paris in a family of keen amateur musicians. He used to sing in nightclubs and in those early years, he says, the world of opera was, to him, no more than an impossible dream. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: One Day from the Immortal Heights by Giuseppe Verdi Book: The works by Victor Hugo Luxury: Guitar.

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    This Hand is so Pretty
    This Hand is so Pretty
    François‐Adrien Boïeldieu
  3. 2.
    Minor Swing
    Minor Swing
    Django Reinhardt
  4. 3.
    Guardate! Pazzo son (from Manon Lescaut)
    Guardate! Pazzo son (from Manon Lescaut)
    Giacomo Puccini