It takes more than a great voice to sing Wicked's iconic song Defying Gravity. As the musical tours Australia, local Elphabas share how they deal with the challenges.
, particularly on Cynthia Erivo in the role of Elphaba, the character destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West.Its level of difficulty is widely appreciated, and it regularly ranks highly on 'hardest songs to sing' lists for its soaring high notes.So it takes more than a great voice to bring a demanding role like Elphaba to the stage night after night. An extremely high level of technical finesse and vocal control is mandatory before even attempting some of her songs.
The original cast's vocal acrobatics wowed audiences when it opened. And Kristen Chenoweth's and Idina Menzel's performances began an iconic lineage of Glindas and Elphabas.Australian performer Erin Cornell was undertaking the musical theatre course at the Victorian College of the Arts the mid-2000s when guest director Dean Bryant handed her the Defying Gravity score."I literally, for the big part, climbed a ladder and I had a broom and a cape, and I sang it.
"I wrote to him at like 2.00 AM, and I didn't mention the audition and I 'I just wanted to say I'm performing this show about your music and thank you so much, your music does the work for you … You just have to deliver it and it's so easy and thank you'," she recalls." lovely things about what I was talking about and then he said, 'I believe I've had the honour of watching you via ...
She says that good sleep, nourishment and fitness are essential to minimise vocal fatigue. "My voice goes flat if I'm not feeling energised and then my vocal fatigue happens because I'm not placing things because I'm tired.""You've got to be really, really smart, I think, and quite technical ... I don't think people want to come and see the show and hear someone yell and scream for two hours.
"Can you imagine being painted green eight times a week, the amount of time and effort that takes for make-up artists? Then you have to shower, post every show," she says.Learning to fly
Defying Gravity Musical Theatre ABC Classic Elphabas Cynthia Erivo Wizard Of Oz Classicreads
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