A TALENTED operatic duo had an “amazing experience” reaching the final of a national singing competition which aired on Saturday.

Emily Burnett, 25, and Sophie Rohan, 26, who bother attended schools in Chester, reached the glamorous final of ITV’s The Voice, as the elegant classical duo Belle Voci - Italian for ‘beautiful voice.’

The pair said they were extremely proud to get that far, despite narrowly missing the winner’s crown after being knocked out of the competition early on in the show.

Emily, who currently lives in Malpas, and Sophie, from Tarporley who attended The Queens School in Chester, were coached and trained by vocal sensation Jennifer Hudson, who also found worldwide fame on a US talent show, American Idol.

Singing for the final time on the show, to millions of viewers at home and for their families who were in the audience, the duo sang a chilling rendition of operatic legacy O Fortuna, followed by a trio of My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion with their coach.

After the performance with Jennifer Hudson, the vote was frozen and the pair were eliminated alongside contestant Lauren Bannon, as the two acts with the lowest number of public votes.

The pair had always dreamed of becoming classical singers when they grew up, and went on to wow judges and win the nation’s hearts with their beautiful soprano voices.

Former Abbey Gate College, Chester, student Emily told ITV during the final: “When we heard Emma call our name (in the semi-final) it was amazing just to realise that people had voted for us, and Sophie added: “It’s a wonderful feeling.”

Both have thanked their friends and the public for their support, and Emily joked that her family were “more excited than we are” before the live final on Saturday, April 7.

Emily’s dad told ITV: “We are the proudest parents you could imagine and we are absolutely on cloud ten.”

Speaking to the Leader after the final, Emily’s mum, Sarah Burnett, of Malpas, said the duo were “phenomenal” and that it was like “an outer body experience” watching her daughter and her daughter’s best friend on stage in front of some of music’s biggest names including judges Tom Jones, will.i.am, and Olly Murs.

Sarah said: “I couldn’t believe it when I was sitting there in the audience of The Voice, thinking ‘that’s my daughter’ on stage. We are terribly proud of them and they have had the most awesome time, they’re very glad to have done it.

“Event bookings have been flooding in, and the whole idea of going on The Voice was something to move them up to the next level, so the girls are very pleased this has worked.

“Getting to the finals was enough for them - obviously we all wanted them to win - but now they can go their own way and it’s worked out absolutely perfectly. It’s been such an amazing experience and we’re all delighted.”

Ruti Olajugbagbe has been announced as The Voice UK 2018 winner, under mentor Tom Jones. singing a duet with the Welsh legend - What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong - and a heart-wrenching winning solo of If You’re Not The One, by Daniel Bedingfield.

Auditions for the next series of The Voice will be held across the country in the next few weeks, including a Wrexham nuclear bunker turned recording studio, ROC2 Studios on Thursday, April 26 from 4-6pm.