SUFFOLK soprano Laura Wright is used to performing on the big stage - but even a singer of her repute suffers pre-show nerves occasionally.

And few occasions come bigger than one of the most watched events on the sporting calendar.

But the 21-year-old put on an assured display in front of 80,000 football fans at Wembley Stadium yesterday, ahead of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup Final.

The former Framllingham College student, who grew up in nearby Framsden, gave a stunning rendition of the National Anthem.

Laura is enjoying the most eventful period of her flourishing career so far, with a new album out at the end of this month and a massive Jubilee arena tour, supporting tenor Russell Watson, to follow.

But this weekend her mind was set solely on her pre-match performance.

“I’ve performed at Twickenham a few times and did the League Cup Final last year but never anything this big,” said Laura, who rose to fame as a member of the classical all-girl group All Angels. “Singing at Wembley will be absolutely amazing. I get nervous with every different performance but I’m also really looking forward to performing at such an enormous event.”

Laura, a self-professed “Tractor Girl”, will release her second solo studio album, Glorious, on May 28 through Decca Records.

The record promises to spread national pride with its arrangements of some of Britain’s most cherished tunes, as well as new songs to help commemorate the Diamond Jubilee. Laura said: “The best word to describe the album is patriotic. It’s British through and through.”

With a vocal version of Elgar’s Nimrod and an anthemic song to mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, entitled Stronger As One, Glorious comes almost a year after her debut LP shot straight to the top of the classical music charts.

Last month, Stronger As One gained royal approval when the song was featured in the Queen’s Commonwealth Day Message at Westminster Abbey ahead of a UK tour with acclaimed tenor Alfie Boe. Between all her touring, and fitting in opera studies at the Royal College of Music, Laura has also become the official English Rose mascot for the nation’s rugby team, due to sing at all the internationals this autumn.

But she still finds time to return home whenever she gets the chance. She said: “I try to get back as much as possible. It has been tough with the album coming out but Suffolk has always been a haven for me and will always remain my home.”