Elca Maranzana has never been afraid of performing; the more people watching, the better. However, the soprano finds auditions nerve-racking. Her trial for the America’s Cup was no exception.

“Last January, I heard they were doing auditions and decided to try out,” she said. “But when I got there I didn’t think it would come through at all.

“I had a cold and cough and my voice was really bad. I was surprised I was able to do it at all.”

Two weeks later she got a call saying she had been selected to sing a duet with Jesse Seymour and the America’s Cup band, 4-Forty-1.

After a few false starts due to the weather, she performed A Man’s World with Jesse on June 24.

“I thought it was wonderful performing with Jesse and the band,” the 36-year-old said. “They were very talented.

“I’m really grateful to organiser Sancha Durham for choosing me.”

The America’s Cup crowd did not disappoint her.

“I think I feed off the crowd’s energy,” she said. “There were hundreds of people there. I thought they were really supportive. Afterward people came up to me and asked if I had an album.”

The last one she released, No Matter What, was in 2010. It’s available on iTunes.

“When I sing I am mostly a classical singer,” she said. “The songs I write though have more of an airy pop feel. I would love to produce another album, but don’t really have the funds right now.”

She hasn’t sung publicly since the America’s Cup but is hopeful great things will come out of her performance.

Ms Maranzana, who had learning challenges as a child, packs groceries at the Supermart and also sells photographs and illustrations to earn money.

“I think I just lacked focus,” she said. “But most of that I have overcome as an adult.

“Singing, writing, doing art and socially interacting with the public help. Working at Supermart has helped me a lot.”

Her mother, Sandra Maranzana, sent her to voice lessons at the age of 7. The lessons, with Barbara Garton at the Bermuda School of Music, continued until she was 18.

“My mother says I had this really, really high-pitched voice and she thought it would help,” said Ms Maranzana.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t really able to focus. Barbara would grab my attention by doing animal noises.

“From then on she was able to help me focus on singing.”

She first performed when she was 11. In her early 20s she moved to the Berkshires, in western Massachusetts, to branch out.

“I collaborated with two bands, the Troop, and Valkyrian Underground, a heavy metal band. I didn’t sing heavy metal, though, I sang more alternative pop.”

Her work with the Troop caught the attention of children’s charity the Lili Claire Foundation.

They invited her to perform at a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, California.

“I was a lot younger then, maybe 25 or 26, so I was really nervous about the locale,” she said. “I wasn’t as open-minded then as I am now.

“Hugh Hefner wasn’t there, but there were a few playboy bunnies around.

“But it was great. There were hundreds of people there watching the performance.

“I think that was probably the largest crowd I’ve performed in front of.”

She returned to Bermuda shortly afterwards.

“I think Bermuda is beautiful, but I’d like to see so much more happening on the island for local musicians and artists,” she said. “I think the lack of opportunity is a bit stifling.

“That is why I like to travel every once in a while.”

She thinks Chewstick is a great option for younger artists but she has not had the time to work with them a lot.

Eventually she would like to set up her own webpage to showcase her art, music and poetry. She would also like to illustrate a children’s book.

Look for Ms Maranzana’s work on Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook, under her name.

• Hear her sing here: youtube.com/watch?v=5-0GtEMrz9E.