Rita Rae, Lady Rae, lawyer and judge
Rita Rae, Lady Rae, lawyer and judge, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.
The Honourable Lady Rita Rae is a lawyer and judge, and the current Rector of the University of Glasgow. Early in her career she was a rare woman in the heavily male-dominated legal world. She went on to work on many high profile criminal cases over five decades as a solicitor, an advocate and subsequently a judge in Scotlandâs Supreme Court.
Rita grew up in Plains, Airdrie, to the east of Glasgow. She was a shy child but earned the nickname âThe Last Wordâ from her parents because of her need to argue her case when she felt something wasnât right. She was inspired to become a lawyer by her maternal grandfather, a noted advocate and anti-fascist from Naples.
Her parents met in a munitions factory in Italy where her mother was working. Her father was a Scottish bomb disposal expert helping to dismantle munitions after the war. They married and moved to Scotland, but Rita and her brother were not accepted by her Scottish family because of their Catholicism.
Rita became a solicitor in 1974, entering a world dominated by men. When told by a senior colleague that women were âemotionally unsuitable for court workâ, she set about proving him wrong. She became a partner in her firm at the age of 27, and was called to the bar in 1982, one of just 13 female advocates in Scotland at the time. She was made a Sheriff in 1997 and a Judge of the Supreme Courts in 2014.
In 2021 she was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow, the first female working rector in the universityâs 570-year history.
DISC ONE: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 - III. Allegro scherzando. Composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) and London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by André Previn
DISC TWO: âAh! Dite alla giovineâ from Act 2 of La Traviata. Composed by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Leo Nucci (baritone) and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Sir Georg Solti
DISC THREE: Mamma - Beniamino Gigli
DISC FOUR: Aranjuez mon amour - Massimo Ranieri
DISC FIVE: Cheap Flights - Fascinating AĂŻda
DISC SIX: âThe Flower Songâ (âLa fleur que tu mâavais jeteeâ), Carmen, Act II. Composed by Georges Bizet, performed by JosĂ© Carreras (tenor) and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Jacques DelacĂŽte
DISC SEVEN: Ave Maria. Composed by Giulio Caccini (Arr. Brinums) and performed by Inessa Galante (Soprano), Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aleksandrs Vilumanis
DISC EIGHT: Climb Evâry Mountain - Peggy Wood
BOOK CHOICE: The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, its Regions and their Peoples by David Gilmour
LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered car
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Mamma - Beniamino Gigli
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producers Paula McGinley and Tim Bano
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Music Played
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Sergey Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 - III. Allegro scherzando
Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy. Conductor: André Previn. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra.- Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3.
- Decca Music Group Ltd..
- 3.
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Giuseppe Verdi
La traviata / Act II - "Ah! Dite alla giovine"
Singer: Angela Gheorghiu. Singer: Leo Nucci. Conductor: Georg Solti. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.- Verdi: La Traviata.
- Verdi: La Traviata.
- 16.
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Beniamino Gigli
Mamma
- Gigli, Beniamino: Gigli Edition, Vol. 10: Milan and London Recordings (1938-1940.
- Naxos.
- 20.
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Massimo Ranieri
Aranjuez mon amour
- Grazie Massimo!.
- CGD/EastWest Italy.
- 14.
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Fascinating AĂŻda
Cheap Flights
- Cheap Flights.
- First Night Records.
- 11.
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Georges Bizet
Carmen, Act II: "The Flower Song" ("La fleur que tu m'avais jetee")
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Singer: José Carreras. Conductor: Jacques DelacÎte.- Tenor Festival: Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras.
- Warner Classics.
- 16.
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Giulio Caccini
Ave Maria
Music Arranger: Georgs Brinums. Singer: Inese Galante. Orchestra: Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Aleksandrs ViÄŒumanis.- Debut.
- Campion.
- 8.
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Peggy Wood (Mother Abbess)
Climb Ev'ry Mountain
- The Sound Of Music: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
- RCA Victor.
- 8.
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