Performing the hit song “Defying Gravity’” from the musical “Wicked” isn’t for the weary, according to WVU vocal specialist Leah Heater. It’s a “full body athletic event,” she says. (WVU Photo/David Ryan)
“Defying Gravity” isn’t just a showstopper — it’s a full-body athletic event, according to West Virginia University College of Creative Arts and Media vocal specialist Leah Heater.
As a visiting assistant professor in the WVU School of Music, Heater teaches the kind of technique most fans never see — the daily drills, body awareness and stamina work that make impossible scores sustainable.
Heater can speak to why “Defying Gravity” tops the list of “Wicked’s” vocal challenges, why raw talent alone won’t cut it eight shows a week, and how the movie’s live-sung, stunt-heavy performances by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande raise the bar even higher.
Quotes:
“I think that it is pretty much universally agreed upon that ‘Defying Gravity’ is the most challenging song vocally in ‘Wicked.’ I would say ‘The Wizard and I’ comes in a close second. What makes it so challenging? You have to build it through a series of key changes and then move through all these registers of the voice. Because it builds so dramatically, by the time you get to the end, you have to reset and make sure you’re staying relaxed enough to get the last and most difficult and powerful notes out.
“It takes years of study and understanding the voice very well, understanding your body very well, and understanding what is and isn’t actually feeling intense — what sounds really powerful. Resonance is often free of tension and free of muscle gripping. There is a sort of paradox going on where the singer perceives upon hearing it that they need to use a great deal of effort and push. But they really need to learn to relax.
“There would be a lot of vocal exercises that you do on a daily basis to keep all of those muscles understanding the correct coordination and engagement. And that takes a long time for the body to understand.
“Most people with raw vocal talent don’t have the innate understanding yet to pull off a song like ‘Defying Gravity’ over and over and over and over again. In the context of a show like ‘Wicked’ as a Broadway performer, yes, maybe if you’re young and your voice sits in the right place, raw vocal talent will get you through. But if you don’t understand technique and if you don’t have reliable technique, once your youth starts to wane, or once you’ve exhausted what raw vocal talent can do, then you’re in a bit of a pickle. Skill is something that is built, but you do need it. It’s also going to be much easier for a singer if they already have that raw vocal talent. So, you’ve got to have both.
“So many people like ‘Wicked’ because of its kinship to the ‘The Wizard of Oz’ which is such a huge cultural staple. I think also just the powerhouse vocals, the original cast that were all so well-suited to the roles, and that ever-popular trope of good versus evil. Everybody likes that.” — Leah Heater, visiting assistant professor, School of Music, WVU College of Creative Arts and Media
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