The songs from the musical event, in theaters since Wednesday, are – a rare occurrence – also performed in French in the French version. Explanations with the artistic director of the film.
In the French version of Wizard of Oz (1939), Judy Garland laments in French about her dreary life in Kansas before singing in English Somewhere Over The Rainbow. In Wickedin theaters since last Wednesday, the witch of the West Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and her best enemy Glinda (Ariana Grande) confront each other in words and songs entirely in French.
A rare fact: with the exception of Disney films, but also My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music or from Wonkamusicals most often mix dialogues in French and songs in English in their VF. “Most musicals have numbers that are linked without really being linked to the narrative of the story,” explains Myriam Peyre, the technical director of Universal Pictures France.
“In the case of Wickeda good part of the story is told through the songs,” continues Myriam Peyre. “And the characters are characterized through what they say in the songs. If the audience has to juggle between the French passages and the subtitles, while listening to the songs and following the story, when we saw the scale of the film, we had to find a solution so as not to lose the audience. “
Hence the idea of offering a version entirely in French. “They are certainly two big stars (in original version), what they do is magical, but at the same time they play characters,” insists the specialist. “We said to ourselves that we were going to interpret these characters without imitating the talent of these two great singers.”
“Like on Broadway”
The project required a lot of preparation. Around fifty people have worked on this VF since the spring. “We set up a troupe like on Broadway,” says Myriam Peyre. The spoken part was entrusted to one artistic director, the singing part to another. And we had to find actresses capable of delivering the performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Elphaba's dialogues are said by Esthèle Dumand and the songs performed by Cylia Assohou. For Glinda, Leopoldine Serre provided the dialogues and Mathilde de Carné the singing part. “We did a lot of testing on these two characters until we found the right tone,” explains Myriam Peyre. “We had to make sure that we matched the two characters in terms of vocal range.”
Because to embody in particular the flagship song of Wickedthe tube Defying Gravityits performer must have extraordinary vocal abilities, indicates Myriam Peyre. “She is very difficult. We needed someone who had strength. We had to work on breathing, have the vocal power to go all the way.”
Finding the right tone
One of the challenges of the VF of Wicked also involves mixing spoken and sung voices without the audience realizing that they come from two different people. To ensure the “perfect match”, there is also “an element of craftsmanship”, concedes Myriam Peyre. The artistic directors in charge of the dialogues and songs, Béatrice Delfe and Georges Costa, are however experienced in the exercise.
“The musical director also knows well the singing technique specific to dubbing which is quite restrictive due to the fact that synchronism must be respected. He was able to find talents available in the Paris market to accomplish and work in the best conditions”, specifies Myriam Peyre. The singers also increased the number of rehearsals to perfect their interpretations of the songs.
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Because Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande performed the songs live on the set of the film. And we had to find this energy in the dubbing. “We took a lot of time to find the tone,” confirms Myriam Peyre. Especially since the recording time is double here because of the dialogued and then sung parts. And to record a song, it takes two days of work.
Richard Darbois the legend
Dubbing legend Richard Darbois, French voice of Jeff Goldblum, provided the dialogue and singing parts of the actor, who plays the Wizard of Oz. Already experienced in the exercise, he notably sang in Toy Story. “And he knows Jeff Goldblum well who has a slightly jazzy voice. It was a little less complicated,” explains Myriam Peyre. “He knows his way of speaking and singing well.”
The American teams of Wicked verified that this French version paid homage to the work of the original actresses. “We sent all our voice tests to production with our recommendations,” remembers Myriam Peyre. “In terms of singing, there were clips sent to show that we were going in the right direction.”
During the previews, the French version was popular. The dubbing of the second part of Wickedwhich is scheduled for release in France on November 26, 2025, will begin next spring. “We work in parallel with post-production,” warns Myriam Peyre. She will once again redouble her efforts with her team. “The soundtrack must be as spectacular as what we see on the screen. We cannot disappoint the public.”
