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Episode details

Radio 3,11 Jan 2026,86 mins

Vanessa Williams

Private Passions

Available for 29 days

Vanessa Williams is musical theatre royalty. She’s worked with Stephen Sondheim on Broadway and is currently commanding the London stage as the fearsome fashion editor Miranda Priestly in the musical The Devil Wears Prada. She’s also topped the American pop charts, starred in Hollywood movies with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and played key roles in prize winning TV series including Ugly Betty. And before all that she was crowned Miss America 1984 - the first Black American to take the title – although she was later forced to relinquish it in controversial circumstances. Her choices include music from her homeland by Samuel Barber, Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, as well as works by Bach and Delius. Presenter Michael Berkeley Producer Katy Hickman

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    Air (Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068)
    Air (Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068)
    Johann Sebastian Bach
  3. 2.
    Christ is the Morning Star
    Christ is the Morning Star
    John Rutter
  4. 3.
    Appalachian Spring - Suite
    Appalachian Spring - Suite
    Aaron Copland