Melbourne-born Lisa Gerrard’s creative partnership with Hans Zimmer was central to the emotional power of Gladiator, and her return to that music at Rod Laver Arena connected the composer’s arena production to its Australian roots. Three Melbourne musicians also featured in the 19-piece touring ensemble.
Hans Zimmer’s Melbourne concert on Saturday 24 October brought together two important connections to the city’s musical history: Melbourne-born vocalist Lisa Gerrard and three local musicians performing in the composer’s 19-piece touring ensemble. The reunion with Gerrard was particularly significant, returning the voice behind much of the emotional identity of Gladiator to the music she created with Zimmer for the 2000 film.
Gerrard’s collaboration with Zimmer on Gladiator helped establish one of the most distinctive soundtracks of modern cinema. The score earned the pair a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in 2001, while Gerrard’s wordless vocals on “Now We Are Free” became inseparable from the film’s final scenes. Her voice gave the music an identity beyond conventional orchestral scoring, bringing a human intensity to Zimmer’s expansive arrangements.
At Rod Laver Arena, Gerrard performed across an extended Gladiator sequence featuring “Homecoming”, “Barbarian Horde”, “Duduk of the North”, “Elysium”, “Honor Him” and “Now We Are Free”. Rather than treating the soundtrack as a collection of familiar themes, the performance allowed the music to unfold as a connected dramatic suite, with Gerrard’s voice at its centre.
The Melbourne connection went further. As well as Gerrard, two other musicians from the city were part of the touring ensemble, giving Zimmer’s production a direct local presence. Zimmer told the audience that Melbourne was his favourite city, praising the way its people support live music and nurture musicians. His affection for the city has been evident on previous visits, but the presence of local players gave that sentiment a more tangible dimension.
The 24 October performance was the first of two Melbourne shows on the Australian leg of Hans Zimmer Live – The Next Level, which continued at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday 25 October.
Zimmer opened with “Like a Dog Chasing Cars” from The Dark Knight, establishing the concert’s emphasis on rhythm, electronic sound design and orchestral force. The first set moved through music from The Dark Knight Rises, Dune, Man of Steel, Hannibal, The Da Vinci Code and Sherlock Holmes before Gerrard’s entrance for the Gladiator sequence.
Between performances, Zimmer supplied personal stories that contrasted with the scale of the production. He repeatedly described himself as “just a composer”, despite commanding a stage designed to give his film music the impact of a major rock concert.
One anecdote concerned his early years in London, where he lived near an alley known locally as Crack Alley. He recalled the pubs and musicians around him, using the setting to deliver a joke about the definition of a gentleman: “somebody who knows how to play a banjo but resists playing it.”
Zimmer also explained the unconventional origins of Gladiator’s music. When asked to create something that sounded authentically Roman, he was sent a CD of supposed ancient Roman music. His response was dismissive. “It was complete and utter garbage. So I made up my own Roman music,” he recalled.
The story illustrated an important distinction in film scoring. Zimmer’s task was not to reconstruct a historically accurate Roman soundtrack but to create music that served the film’s dramatic world. The resulting score combined orchestral writing, percussion and Gerrard’s distinctive vocals to establish a sound that audiences continue to recognise more than 25 years later.
His account of Interstellar offered a more intimate perspective on his creative process. Zimmer recalled receiving letters from director Christopher Nolan, beginning with a description of parenthood and the moment a child first looks into a parent’s eyes. Inspired by the subject, Zimmer wrote a piano piece for his own son.
Nolan recognised the emotional potential of the music and used the idea to help establish the heart of the film, subsequently developing the science-fiction story around themes of family, separation and time. Zimmer’s account provided a personal explanation for the emotional weight carried by the Interstellar score.
The second set moved from the electronic momentum of Inception to the romantic orchestral writing of Pearl Harbor, the racing energy of F1 and the expansive musical landscapes of Dune: Part Two and Interstellar. The newer F1 material brought animated racing imagery to the screens, while “Day One”, “Murph”, “Coward” and “Stay” formed an extended Interstellar sequence.
Lebo M returned for the The Lion King selections, including “Nants’ Ingonyama”, “Busa”, “Stampede” and “Remember”. His vocal performances remain central to the musical identity of the 1994 animated film. His daughter, Refilwe Morake, is also part of the touring ensemble, adding another family connection to the production.
The Pirates of the Caribbean section featured Mariko Muranaka’s electric cello, bringing a distinctive texture to “The Kraken”, “Jack Sparrow”, “One Day”, “Up Is Down” and “He’s a Pirate”.
Visually, The Next Level pushed beyond the format of a conventional film-music concert. During Interstellar, an aerial performer in a mirrored costume appeared above the stage, scattering reflected points of light across Rod Laver Arena. Two drum kits, a central modular synthesiser setup and musicians moving across a multilevel stage added a physical, rock-concert dimension to the orchestral arrangements.
The closing performance of “Time” from Inception stripped the production back to Zimmer alone at a black grand piano. The theme gradually expanded before the additional instruments fell away, leaving the composer at the piano as the arena settled into near silence.
The scale of The Next Level was considerable, but Melbourne’s strongest connection to the performance was personal. Gerrard’s return to the Gladiator music brought her collaboration with Zimmer into focus, while the three local musicians on stage reflected the city he praised for its commitment to live performance.
Setlist: Hans Zimmer Live – The Next Level
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, 24 October 2026
Set One
1. Like a Dog Chasing Cars (The Dark Knight)
2. Why So Serious? (The Dark Knight)
3. Why Do We Fall? (The Dark Knight Rises)
4. Gotham’s Reckoning (The Dark Knight Rises)
5. The Fire Rises (The Dark Knight Rises)
6. Paul’s Dream (Dune)
7. What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World? (Man of Steel)
8. If You Love These People (Man of Steel)
9. To Every Captive Soul (Hannibal)
10. Chevaliers de Sangreal (The Da Vinci Code)
11. Tick Tock (Shadows, Part 2) (Sherlock Holmes)
12. Discombobulate (Sherlock Holmes)
13. Homecoming (with Lisa Gerrard) (Gladiator)
14. Barbarian Horde (with Lisa Gerrard) (Gladiator)
15. Duduk of the North (with Lisa Gerrard) (Gladiator)
16. Elysium (with Lisa Gerrard) (Gladiator)
17. Honor Him (with Lisa Gerrard) (Gladiator)
18. Now We Are Free (with Lisa Gerrard) (Gladiator)
Set Two
1. Dream Is Collapsing (Inception)
2. 160 BPM (Angels & Demons)
3. …And Then I Kissed Him (Pearl Harbor)
4. Tennessee (Pearl Harbor)
5. F1 (F1)
6. Arrival (Dune: Part Two)
7. A Time of Quiet Between the Storms (Dune: Part Two)
8. Day One (Interstellar)
9. Murph (Interstellar)
10. Coward (Interstellar)
11. Stay (Interstellar)
12. Nants’ Ingonyama (with Lebo M) (The Lion King)
13. The Journey / Kopano, Part III (with Lebo M) (Tears of the Sun)
14. Busa (with Lebo M) (The Lion King)
15. Stampede (with Lebo M) (The Lion King)
16. Remember (with Lebo M) (The Lion King)
17. The Kraken (Pirates of the Caribbean)
18. Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)
19. One Day (Pirates of the Caribbean)
20. Up Is Down (Pirates of the Caribbean)
21. He’s a Pirate (Pirates of the Caribbean)
22. Time (Inception)
Remaining Australian Tour Dates
28 October, Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
29 October, Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
Tickets: https://www.frontiertouring.com/hanszimmerlive
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