Tickets for tomorrow’s and Saturday’s concerts are sold out.
The Tenerife International Film Music Festival (FIMUCITÉ), created and directed by composer and conductor Diego Navarro, has scheduled for this weekend at the Auditorio de Tenerife the closing-ceremony concerts of this year’s 19th edition of the festival. Tickets are already sold out. The live-to-picture show Gladiator in Concert is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., with the Sinfónica de Tenerife led by conductor Diego Navarro performing the soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard during the projection of the Ridley Scott film in English with Spanish subtitles.
The Sinfónica de Tenerife will be joined on stage by the festival’s official choir, the Tenerife Film Choir, conducted by Juan Ramón Vinagre, which will also feature the voices of the Contemporary Choir of Tenerife, led by Esther Wagenaar, and the EnArmonía Choir, directed by Miriam Luz Fumero Morales and Wagenaar. Lisa Gerrard, the soloist featured in the soundtrack of Gladiator, will perform with the Sinfónica de Tenerife the iconic number “Now We Are Free” and other solo pieces from the score as the star performer of this year’s festival, dedicated to Italy and its historical and cultural legacy.
The details of the event were disclosed during an act attended by the conductor Diego Navarro, the Tenerife Island Council Vice President Lope Afonso, the Councillor for Cultural Affairs José Carlos Acha, the General Director of Cultural Innovation and the Creative Industries Cristóbal de la Rosa, the Santa Cruz Councillor for Cultural Affairs Santiago Díaz, the composer and soloist Lisa Gerrard, the founder and Art Director of Roma Film Music Festival Marco Patrigniani, and the Director of Krakow Film Music Festival Agata Grabowiecka.
Lope Afonso said, ‘As this year’s FIMUCITÉ draws to a close, we have seen another year of even higher quality, which the festival manages to achieve year after year. The presence of Lisa Gerard will surely be the most important and memorable event of this year’s festival. With this festival, we offer high-quality culture to visitors with discerning tastes. Tenerife is a destination for relaxation, services, and gastronomy, but also for its diverse cultural offerings, which make for a truly unique stay. I want to elevate the status of FIMUCITÉ from festival to landmark event because that is what it has become”, he added.
José Carlos Acha thanked Diego Navarro “for this festival, for these international alliances and for not giving up. During this term of office, our support for the festival has been firm. It is an initiative that makes democratic use of resources by offering a variety of formats through a different approach to promote classical music.”
Cristóbal de la Rosa stressed “two special interests: the creation of networks with Krakow and Rome, and the selection of an epic film just when we need it because we need to transcend to speak of the common good. Specific periods of history reveal a path taken. In political terms, this is the road we must follow despite the difficulties.”
Tenerife Tourism CEO Dimple Melwani said, “Through culture, this festival contributes to the development of the local industry of culture, to the promotion of music, to local development and participation and the projection abroad of a modern and dynamic image of the island. A festival sponsored by Tenerife Tourism that enriches the island’s cultural offerings with new events and activities for the enjoyment of young and old and for residents and visitors, creating a distinctive and memorable experience.” She added, “FIMUCITÉ is much more than a music festival: it is a platform for culture and tourism that generates economic activity on the island as well as opportunities for training and networking for composers and professionals of the audio-visual sector through the Film Scoring Academy”.
Santiago Díaz commented on “two important milestones we have achieved in this year’s festival: the concerts in the squares Plaza de la Candelaria and Plaza del Príncipe. Given their success, we intend to continue promoting these street-level concerts. He went on to thank Diego Navarro: “as the head of the Music School, for being an inspiration and as a Tenerife native for making this festival possible for our children.”
Diego Navarro acknowledged that “this has been a year of arduous work, with the festival’s five-week duration, which makes it the longest in its 19-year history.” The conductor recalled the moment when the subject matter was chosen, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of the premiere of Ridley Scott’s film. He also said that there will be “160 musicians onstage, interpreting a challenging score. The effort and results of the Sinfónica de Tenerife in this regard are sublime”, he concluded.
Singer, co-author and soloist of the film’s soundtrack, Lisa Gerrard, said, “I’m honoured to be in this wonderful and magical place. I feel very privileged to be here in this paradise. Hans Zimmer, who sends his regards, and I are grateful that our music will be performed here”.
Marco Patrigniani said, “It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to offer the public the soul of Rome with this concert, especially with a living legend like Lisa Gerrard. We heard her sing at the Colosseum, and I won’t forget her performance any time soon. We are building strong alliances among the three festivals (Tenerife, Rome and Krakow) to offer the most powerful language of our times: cinema music”.
Agata Grabowiecka stated that “FIMUCITÉ is an excellent example of how tourism and culture can work together. These kinds of events draw more and better visitors. Tourists seek quality experiences that produce emotions, and that is exactly what we can offer them with our festivals.”
In association with CineConcerts, Gladiator in Concert stands to be a unique and immersive experience on the 25th anniversary of the release of a legendary film that won five Academy Awards, including the Award for Best Picture. Spectators will enjoy the projection of the movie while hearing an interpretation of its soundtrack, performed in synch with the film’s images, dialogues and sound effects.
The live-to-picture format is a highly anticipated cultural event for those who regularly attend the festival, as they are passionate about films and film music. The format has created a following since its premiere in 2018, with the science-fiction classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind hosted by writer Javier Sierra. The 2019 festival featured Bram Stoker’s Dracula, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in a co-production with the FMF of Kraków. Last year’s festival featured the projection of La La Land, the soundtrack of which was composed by two-time Oscar winner Justin Hurwitz.
FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy
In addition, the finishing touches are being put on the programme of the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy (FFSA), which reflects the festival’s commitment to specialised training in creating music for audio-visual works. This afternoon, at 5 p.m., a talk with Lisa Gerrard will be held at Espacio Cultural CajaCanarias in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, hosted by the prolific film music producer Robert Townson. On Saturday at noon, the renowned archaeologist and communicator will present an immersive conference featuring Segovia-born writer Néstor F. Marqués, a collaborator with Spanish broadcaster TVE and the author of several best-selling books on Ancient Rome. The conference is colourfully titled ‘Those Who Are NOT About to Die: They Salute You!’.
The University of La Laguna, through the Vice Rectorate of Culture and University Outreach, will issue a certificate of attendance to all those who attend at least 80% of the class hours of the FIMUCITÉ Film Scoring Academy programme. In addition, those who successfully complete the independent work required will receive a certificate of attendance and achievement, recognised with ECTS credits.
It is also worth noting that this 19th edition of the festival will feature the presence of Marco Patrigniani and Agata Grabowiecka, art directors of the Roma Film Music Festival and the Kraków FMF, respectively. To borrow a term from Ancient Rome, these festivals, along with FIMUCITÉ, form an international triumvirate that encourages artistic and productive collaboration among the three events.
Backing
FIMUCITÉ, a global reference in its genre, thus concludes its 19th edition with the support of its main sponsors, the Tenerife Island Council and Tenerife Tourism, the Government of the Canary Islands through the Canarian Institute of Cultural Development, the town councils of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristobal de La Laguna, and the Autonomous Musical Activities Agency of La Laguna. Fimucité is also grateful for the commitment of both the Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Auditorio de Tenerife, alongside various other supporters, public and private alike — among them Mutua Tinerfeña, the Centro-Ifara district of Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, Fundación DISA, Emmasa, Domingo Alonso, Audi (as the festival’s official vehicle provider), Fundación SGAE, and Fundación CajaCanarias. Grupo Plató del Atlántico, Fundación Diario de Avisos, RTVE, Radio Televisión Canaria, and SoundTrackFest are participating as leading media partners.