EVENT FOCUS
GLADIATOR: IN CONCERT K-array technology was deployed across 2 of Rome’s most famous landmarks to provide the crystal clear audio required for one of the year’s most exclusive events. TPi’s Ste Durham was on site to speak with the people behind this historic undertaking.
Last July, in the pages of this very magazine, some smart arse wrote about “the alchemy of pairing an artist with their perfect venue”, in reference to a blistering performance by Rammstein at Horsens State Prison in Denmark. While this show certainly was - and remains - a strong example of this concept, Gladiator: In Concert is its embodiment. For one night only, Ridley Scott’s historical epic was screened in HD and accompanied by a live performance of the Hans Zimmer-composed soundtrack, courtesy of Conductor Justin Freer and the musicians and choir of the Italian Film Orchestra. Australian vocalist, Lisa Gerrard, who sang on the movie’s soundtrack and served as its co-composer, also
added her otherworldly talents to the event; all of which unfolded within the storied ruins of antiquity’s most infamous entertainment venue - the Colosseum… Beat. That. This prestigious event was staged by film score performance specialist CineConcerts, in support of Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign, and attended by stars of the film such as Maximus himself, Russell Crowe, and ‘the eighth king of Rome’; former AS Roma striker Francesco Totti. Such a luminous occasion required a truly world class audio setup; with the gauntlet ultimately being thrown down before technical supplier Planet Service - and the K-array Firenze system. 16
