MovieScore Media’s latest documentary score follows a historical moment of transgender rights with a composer who must “compete” with Mozart. The winner of the 2020 OUTshine Film Festival, James Kicklighter’s The Sound of Identity follows baritone opera singer Lucia Lucas as she is set to be the first ever transgender woman to perform as Don Giovanni in a professional opera performance. The film takes viewers behind the scenes as the singer makes her historic debut with the Tulsa Opera in Oklahoma...

The Sound of Identity has an emotionally charged string-based score by Nicolas Repetto. The album consists of 16 (39 min, 55 sec) tracks, the majority of which are melancholic and really tug at the heartstrings. It blurs the line between classical music and movie soundtrack.

Talking about the project, Repetto says: "In my discussions with James Kicklighter about the score, we both agreed early on that having an 'Identity motif'. This motif, recurring to signify Lucia’s journey along with a full realization of her theme playing in key moments, would be the glue that ties the entire score together in addition to working in tandem with another important theme representing Lucia’s mentor, Tobias Picker. I decided on using solo violin, performed by Rebecca Schlappich-Charles, to represent the ‘Identity motif’ alongside passionate cello solos performed by Ruslan Biryukov and the intimate viola solos by Jonathan Morgan assisted in representing Lucia’s and Tobias’ thematic material throughout the score. In addition to the solos, the use of a chamber string orchestra and a sprinkling of synths/electronics completes the soundscape. In essence, Lucia’s operatic and life journey, presented beautifully throughout the film, helped our score find its identity as well."

The end result is a beautiful, multilayered album that will stay with you for quite some time.

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Darren Rea