Soprano Laura Wright is a firm favourite with readers of this blog – in fact, her rendition of Barcelona was voted into the top five of  the Alfie Boe’s Favourite Duet poll.  Come What May made the top ten as well.

Laura recently took part in the recording of Global Radio’s Make Some Noise charity single, Steadfast and took time out to answer a few questions about this and her new album, Sound of Strength, for thoughtsofjustafan – thanks Laura!

Q:  What can you tell me about your involvement with Make Some Noise?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          A: I am recording a charity single with Classic FM, written by Howard Goodall to raise awareness of this amazing project to encourage young people to get involved in creating music but also helping to educate them on the music industry.
Q. Have you been involved with any other ensemble charity recordings like this?
A: I have yes, I recorded the 2007 World Cup song World in Union with many other artists, when I was part of All Angels. I also recorded a version of The Prayer for a Christmas charity single as well with All Angels, however this will be my first solo involvement in a ensemble charity recording.
Q:  You are also an ambassador for Nordoff Robbins, have you had the chance to see their music therapy at work?
A: I have attended several therapy sessions and seen the work Nordoff Robbins do. My most recent visit was to a dementia care home.  I began singing with some of the residents and suddenly they came to life, it was like seeing a glimpse of the person they used to be.
Q: Are there any more marathons in the pipeline?
A: Not as of yet however we are planning an even bigger challenge, so you’ll have to wait and see.
Q: Your Sound of Strength album has a really innovative sound  – how did you come up with the idea?
A: It’s a reflection of myself really…fusing my two passions in life, sport and music. I wanted to do something that was inspiring, something new and innovative. I wanted the album to have excitement, beauty and to empower the listener.
Q: And how did you pick Dr. Karageorghis to help you?
A: I had heard about some of his work with Dai Greene [World 400m  hurdles champion, where he created a playlist to enhance the athlete’s performance. I wanted to back up my creative thoughts with something scientific and Dr. Karageorghis seemed the right choice to help sequence the album and show that music can enhance someone’s emotions.
Q:  Nessun Dorma was my favourite track, the first time I’ve heard a soprano sing this.  What was the inspiration behind the choice?
A:  A lot of the music on the album has been inspired by sporting moments. For me, one of the most powerful moments in sporting history when referring to music was when Nessun Dorma was sung by the three tenors for the football world cup. A perfect example of sport and music combining to create something extremely powerful. I wanted to recreate that moment but with a female voice and driving beats. My three elder brothers also feature on the track as backing vocalists.
Q: Apart from Sound of Strength, what can audiences expect on your 2015 tour?
A: Of course I’ll be reflecting on my first two albums and performing some of the music recorded with the RPO and Anna Barry, along with some of my favourites from Glorious. As well as music from my latest album Sound of Strength… I want to create something very dramatic through sporting references. I aim to help bring the audience back to a point when these sporting  moments took place, via the power of music.
Q: As this is your first headline tour, what do you think will be the hardest / easiest things?
A: The hardest…to find a gym near every venue..haha! It’s always a challenge being away from home, but I look forward to my date in Ipswich when my family and friends will be coming.
Q: Fans voted your Barcelona duet with Alfie Boe, in their top 5 Alfie Boe duets (Come What May made the top 10) – tell me how was it to sing that iconic song?
A: Wow! Thank you!! I was incredibly nervous about singing it, but so excited too! And to sing such a historically important song at a Freddie Mercury function with Alfie, was for me a very special moment! I remembering coming off stage on such a high…I think I had heat rash!
Q: Any plans to sing with / record with Alfie again – Alfie Boe fans have a lot of love for you!
A: We recently performed World in Union together at Jonny Wilkinson’s Testimonial dinner which was so much fun. Alfie and I always have such fun on stage so whenever there is an opportunity to sing with him, I feel very lucky!

Well, Alfie’s fans also feel very lucky to be able to enjoy Alfie and Laura singing, here they are in 2012 singing Come What May:

Thanks Laura – hope to see you sing with Alfie again very soon!

Laura’s album, Sound of Strength, can be ordered now from Amazon:

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