Interview with Laura Wright

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

LAURA WRIGHT

Glamorous soprano Laura Wright has become one of the biggest selling classical artists of our decade and performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the UK. Director of Oracle Magazine Myles Lockwood caught up with Laura to talk about her new EP and her upcoming performance, right here in Plymouth.

When did you first start singing and where did it all begin?

I started singing when I was 15. I did a competition with BBC Radio 2 called ‘Chorister of the Year’ and that was my first experience of performing. I was lucky enough to go on and win the competition and it all spiralled from there really!

Your new EP ‘The Sound of Strength’ was released on 30th June, can you tell us a bit about it?

It is a different style of music to what I have done in the past. It’s a real reflection of myself in a way, as it combines my two passions in life, which are sport and classical music. Over the past few years I have performed at a lot of sporting events and have been made the official anthem singer for the England Rugby.

So as a result of that, I wanted to create something very powerful and very empowering, especially to women, which is something I talk about a lot. I think of my body as an instrument in the sense that I train my body just like I train my voice. There’s a video for the new track,

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and it’s all based around the sound of strength. Being strong is beautiful to me and I would really love other women to feel that.

Would you say the new track is the best work you have produced so far?

I think it’s definitely the most honest work I’ve produced. It’s taken me a long time to try and create this sort of music without turning my back on classical, because that’s my first love of music and where I have trained the most. It’s taken a while to find a way through different paths with producers who work in Drum and Base, Trip Hop and Dubstep and all different genres, and bring it together in a way that creates something very powerful and also something quite moving and emotional. I think classical music really has the power to do that.

You mentioned you are passionate about your fitness, which sport do you enjoy the most?

I play Rugby and I’m also really into Cross Fit, which is a crazy new sport that

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I’m into Yoga and Pilates as well, as it is my own time away from singing and helps with my breathing. I try to do things that complement each other, but I do love a good competitive game of Hockey or Rugby!

Do you have a daily fitness regime you follow to stay in shape?

Obviously at times it’s really difficult with travelling, but I try and do Yoga or Pilates in the morning as it starts the day off in the right way and then I’ll do something a bit more intense in the evenings. If I’m travelling around singing, I may just go for a run or something as I find it has a real positive impact on my personality.

“I think of my body as an instrument in the sense that I train my body just like I train my voice” Do you find being an accomplished sports person has helped you in any way with your singing career?

Massively! I think it’s kept my feet on the ground and helped me to keep things in perspective and as I said before, my body is an instrument and I train it just like I train my voice, so I think it has made me take my singing more seriously as well.

You are coming to Plymouth Pavilions on October 29th, supporting Paul Potts. Can fans expect to hear any new material?

Yes, it’s going to be all new material!

That’s the best thing and I’m so excited about it! It’s going to be an opportunity to perform my new music and I’ve got two wonderful musicians who are great friends of mine travelling around with me.

I’m just really looking forward to meeting the audiences and being able to build a relationship with them. I love being able to perform and for me, it’s the best part of my career so I’m really looking forward to it!

You have performed at some impressive venues, which is your favourite so far and why?

Twickenham Stadium has become a second home now. Even though I always get nervous, I feel like it’s a very special venue. I sang at Covent Garden Opera House as part of the Royal Ballet performance with the Royal Opera and

that was an amazing place to perform.

Alongside that, probably the Royal Albert Hall, which is of course a stunning venue.

It must feel overwhelming singing live in front of so many people. How do you manage your nerves?

I always get nervous, no matter how big or small the performance is. I try and manage my nerves by having 10 minutes of complete silence before I go out on stage and to try and create a really calm surrounding.

Do you do Yoga beforehand to calm your nerves?

I’ve started to! I have to be honest, I wasn’t into yoga until about 6 months ago but it’s actually really helped me find a process with breathing particularly, as it is such an important part of my job. I wouldn’t want the nerves to ever disappear though. The other alternative is that my mum always tells me to imagine everyone sitting on the loo, which would make me laugh!

Or the famous one is to imagine everyone naked!

Yes! Although, when you’re performing for the Queen that’s not really appropriate!

Which artists inspire you the most and who do you enjoy listening to?

I would have to say on my iPod at the moment, I love Coldplay’s new album.

I just want there to be more tracks on the album, because I love it! In terms of people who inspire me and are great soloists, it would be Billy Holiday and Russian Soprano Opera Singer Anna Netrebko, who has the most stunning voice. Also, my eldest brother is a massive inspiration to me as he’s just so passionate about music and that helped me discover music when I was younger.

“I love being able to perform and for me, it’s the best part of my career” If you could choose any artist to collaborate with, who would it be and why?

Oh my goodness, that is an impossible question! If it was anyone, I would have to say it would be my elder brother with Coldplay if that’s allowed?! He is an enormous fan of Coldplay and that kind of music. I think there are a lot of great bands out there, and also someone like Peter Gabriel who has stood the test of time.

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Laura performing at Twickenham Stadium When you’re not performing or playing sports and manage to get some time to yourself, what’s your favourite thing to do?

I have really got back into reading some good books at the moment. I love it in the summer time when the weather is nice, simply sitting in the park and getting my nose into a good book. It’s something I find really relaxing. My family are from Suffolk, so I try to go back and find a bit of peace and quiet there as well.

You are already one of the biggest selling classical artists of our decade, what else do you hope to achieve in your career?

There are a few things I would love to do next year. To perform at the Rugby World Cup would be a dream come true for me, obviously being held here it would be really special and something that would be very close to my heart. Then I would love to take my new music over to America. They are two of my aims for the near future! I think it would be the kind of music that they would respond really well to. I would also love to travel a lot more with my music and experience different cultures along the way.

Visit www.plymouthpavilions.co.uk to buy tickets to see Laura Wright supporting Paul Potts on October 29th. Her new EP ‘The Sound of Strength’ is available to buy now on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon.

By Lucy McGowan

August 2014 27