Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo perform 'Wizard of Oz,' 'Wicked' songs at the Oscars

How thrillifying that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened the Oscars ceremonial with a show of songs from “Wicked.”

At the Dolby Theatre successful Hollywood connected Sunday, the 2 Oscar-nominated stars treated audiences to a philharmonic past of Oz onstage and onscreen.

Grande archetypal delivered a moonlit rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which Judy Garland famously sang arsenic Dorothy successful the movie “The Wizard of Oz.”

Erivo past belted her mentation of “Home” from the 1975 Broadway philharmonic “The Wiz,” primitively performed by Stephanie Mills onstage and by Diana Ross successful the 1978 movie adaptation.

Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande execute astatine the 97th Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The 2 past joined hands to reprise a conception of “Defying Gravity,” their finale duet from “Wicked.”

Once Erivo sang Elphaba’s iconic warfare cry, attendees successful the auditorium gave the duo a lasting ovation — with Michelle Yeoh and others adjacent wiping distant tears — and the media country exploded with cheers and applause.

Universal’s big-screen instrumentality connected the blockbuster philharmonic was nominated for 10 awards, including the performances of Erivo and Grande arsenic pb histrion and supporting actress, respectively, arsenic good arsenic for champion picture, costume design, accumulation design, movie editing, sound, constitution and hairstyling, ocular effects and archetypal score.

Cynthia Erivo performed astatine the 97th Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Set earlier Dorothy’s accomplishment successful “The Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked” centers connected the 2 women who go Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West, and the alteration successful their relationship erstwhile nine pits them against each other.

Jon M. Chu directs the two-part adaptation of the Stephen Schwartz signifier musical, based connected Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, L. Frank Baum’s 1900 phantasy caller and the 1939 movie adaptation.

The archetypal movie has grossed $728 cardinal astatine the planetary container office, making it Hollywood’s highest-grossing movie adaptation of a Broadway musical. The 2nd movie, titled “Wicked: For Good,” hits theaters connected Nov. 21.

Ariana Grande performed astatine the 97th Academy Awards.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Cerys Davies, Faith Stafford and Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this report.