How Cynthia Erivo Hit Those High Notes in Wicked While Hoisted Up in the Air Wearing a Corset

Cynthia Erivo accomplished the incredible feat of singing live while performing high-flying stunts in the Wicked.

The Oscar nominee and her co-star Ariana Grande decided to sing live on the set of the new musical film, with Erivo, 37, as Elphaba and Grande, 31, as Glinda. But Eriva’s vocals were even more of a challenge when she decided to perform her own stunts, including flying over Oz during the film’s key musical point of “Defying Gravity”.

At a post-screening discussion at New York’s DGA Theater earlier this month, Erivo explained that she underwent “rigorous training” to “make sure her body was prepared.”

“I had an amazing vocal coach who just helped me find the breath I needed to do it. Because usually if you sing something like that, you need a lot of power, you need a lot of sound. You usually need the ground to push off,” she explained.

“But when you don’t have it, you have to find it somewhere else. And so it was about replacing the ground with literally air and my non-existent diaphragm, because I was in a corset.”

Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked”.

Universal Pictures

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The actress admitted that there was a “real learning curve” for her, but she was “really determined” because she “really wanted to do the song justice”.

“I did everything I could,” she said. “I endured all the bruises and scrapes and whatever it took. … I wanted to make sure that I could experience what it’s like to fly and what it feels like to sing that song, all in one. And I hope it was worth it.”

Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked”.

Universal Studios

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In a recent promotional video, Erivo is heard saying, “Going into this, I knew stunts were necessary and I knew I wanted to do my own stunts. I wanted to get the job done.”

The Tony winner admitted that singing on air in a corset was a “really weird feeling” because she had to learn to “change the way” she breathes “in order to sing”.

She continued by noting, “When it all comes together, now you’re flying with a corset and a belt and songs, and it works. It really feels like magic.”

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With a change in breathing, the singer said Sentimental men podcast that she refused to use the bathroom until 12 to 2 p.m. during long production days. Although she says it’s “probably a terrible idea,” she didn’t want to go through the process of putting on her costume and stunt gear.

“There are too many layers,” she said, revealing that there were “two or three different belts for different stunts” and that she wore them over her corset and costume when she used them.

Wicked it’s in theaters now.

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Source: HIS Education