Ennio Morricone // The Art of Light

You’ve probably heard music composed by Ennio Morricone. The Italian composer has composed music for hundreds of movies, television series, classical productions and pop songs. A famous example is the film music for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In 2016, at the age of 87, Ennio Morricone received an Oscar for Best Original Score for the Hateful Eight. He would never stop working. A few years later he passed away at the age of 91 - but his music will live on forever.

Celebration Tour

In the fall of 2022, we started touring with The Ennio Morricone Official Concert Celebration Tour - directed by his son Andrea Morricone. After designing and programming the lighting design for a stage that holds a big orchestra and a 50-piece choir, we performed live during this unique world tour that started in Tokyo, Japan.

The concerts are a homage to Ennio Morricone. Of course, his music is the main element of the show. Most parts of the film music were accompanied by video clips from the movies and old video footage of Ennio Morricone performing live. The music is alternated with interviews with the man himself, and other people talking about him. A complete show to discover, understand and experience the work of Ennio Morricone.

Challenge

The Art of Light was involved from the start and we contributed ideas about the production design. This kind of concert revolves completely around the music, so the lighting design should not be distracting or dominant. We wanted to create an atmospheric setting and it’s always a challenge to create a charming lighting design that leaves enough clear light for the musicians to read music on stage. We have lots of experience with this, but every orchestra is different. For example, the Metropole Orchestra (from our home country the Netherlands), is very much used to playing on stage with show lights. Most classical orchestras have no experience with this. Luckily, we have lots of improvising experience and we know how to create balance and make sure every musician is comfortable on stage.

Result

With these concerts, it is not our lighting design creating the party. The bombastic music will take care of that. Therefore, programming on musical cues received less attention. It was our job to create the right atmosphere in which people can enjoy music to the fullest. No distracting lights, no dominant colors, but a warm and welcoming environment for both musicians and spectators. We are very happy we convinced the teams to use show lights on the orchestra as well, to create a beautiful whole that the audience can enjoy to the fullest. We saw entire families enjoying the concert, every individual in its own way. For some, it’s quite the trip down memory lane. For others, this music is completely new. We are looking forward to the rest of this tour. What a unique experience!