The second solo album from Cynthia Erivo, fresh off a herculean press run with the success of the first “Wicked” film, was always meant to be “vocal-focused,” she told The Associated Press recently. It may be the understatement of a lifetime: to know her is to know her instrument — that range, the notes few else can hit but many attempt.

As musical theater fans await Part 2 of the blockbuster Broadway adaptation, the woman behind Elphaba is releasing an album of softer, more intimate soul music.