Outlander Season 7: Caitríona Balfe Sang The Ave Maria In One Filthy Take

Even seven seasons deep, Starz's "Outlander" is still finding new ways to give its fans an emotional gutpunch. Such was the case with Season 7, Episode 3, in which viewers may have been too surprised to see Caitríona Balfe's Claire Fraser sing a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the infamous "Ave Maria" at a funeral procession. If there's any doubt about Balfe being the one to flex Claire's unexpected vocal skills, cast it away — it's been confirmed that the actor actually sang for the scene, and she even did it in one take.

In an interview with Decider, Balfe spoke about how the show's writers decided to have Claire sing. "Oh, well, I can't say that it's a natural thing for me to be singing," the actor said. "You know, they suggested it and, you know, look, it's always nice to have a new challenge. They might have been able to pick an easier song, but they didn't. They really threw me in there."

While Caitríona Balfe was ostensibly thrown into the deep end with her vocal performance of "Ave Maria" for "Outlander," she did at least manage to get some preparation in for the scene before it was shot. "I had a couple of sessions with a vocal coach, this amazing guy, Michael L. Roberts, and big shout out to him because most of it is just my absolute mortification of having to do it in public in front of people, and he helped me get through that," the actor told Collider.

That bit of practice apparently paid off, as Balfe didn't just sing the song well — she managed to do the scene in one singular take. "In the moment, we did it in one long take, and I think we only did one take of it," she explained. "It was amazing work by the camera team. We just did the squelching through mud, with this long take walking through that funeral procession, and just did it a cappella."

Of course, Balfe's rendition of "Ave Maria" isn't perfect, but she and the creative team felt that lent the moment a bit more authenticity and realism. "To be honest, in those situations, you just have to go, 'Okay, Claire is not a professional singer. Neither am I. It's about the emotion of the moment, and it's about saying goodbye to a beloved character and what everybody's feeling in that,'" Balfe said. "You focus on that stuff, rather than how you sound."