"The music of Rossini came into my life very early", says actress Joanna Lumley, "I loved him because his music is so happy". In conversation with Michael Parkinson, she recalls her upbringing in the Far East, a convent education and her subsequent theatrical career. She also chooses the other music to accompany Rossini on her sojourn to the desert island.

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

Favourite track: Eroica (First Movement) by Ludwig van Beethoven