''Marco Polo'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by the Chinese-born composer

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...

set to an English libretto by Paul Griffiths. It premiered in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

on 7 May 1996. Described variously as an "opera within an opera" and a "fantasia on an epic journey", the multi-layered storyline is loosely based on the journey of Marco Polo from Venice to China. In the opera, Marco Polo becomes two characters: Marco, who represents the real person and is sung by a mezzo-soprano, and Polo who represents his memory and is sung by a tenor. The work is scored for vocal soloists, a chorus of 20 and a large orchestra of both modern and medieval European instruments as well as instruments from the cultures that Marco Polo passed through on his journey, including

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

, pipa, sheng,

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

and Tibetan horns and bells. ''Marco Polo'' won the 1998

Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition () is an annual prize instituted by Henry Charles Grawemeyer, industrialist and entrepreneur, at the University of Louisville in 1984. The award was first given in 1985. Subsequently, the Grawemeyer Awar ...

.grawemeyer.org

Performance history

''Marco Polo'' began as a commission by the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

in the late 1980s. However, it was not completed until 1995 and received its first performance at the

Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale (german: Münchener Biennale) is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Musi ...

on 7 May 1996 directed by

Martha Clarke Martha Clarke (born June 3, 1944) is an American theater director and choreographer noted for her multidisciplinary approach to theatre, dance, and opera productions. Her best-known original work is ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' (1984, re-im ...

. Its US premiere followed on 8 November 1997 at the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

. Marco Polo was first seen in the UK in November 1998 in a concert performance at the

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has feature ...

. Its most recent revival was a November 2008 production at De Nederlandse Opera in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Roles

*Memory: Polo (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

) *Being 1: Marco ( mezzo-soprano) *Being 2: Kublai Khan ( bass) *Nature: Water ( soprano) *Shadow 1: Rustichello/

Li Po Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du Fu ...

(tenor) *Shadow 2: Sheherazada/

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

/Queen (mezzo-soprano) *Shadow 3:

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

( baritone)

Recordings

*''Marco Polo'' (CD Sony 62912) - World premiere recording with Thomas Young and Alexandra Montano in the title roles, the Cappella Amsterdam, and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer. Recorded live at Yakult Hall, Amsterdam on 20 June 1996. *''Marco Polo'' (DVD Opus Arte OA1010D) - The 2008 production of the opera by

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

, with Charles Workman and Sarah Castle in the title roles and conducted by the composer.

Notes and references

Sources

* G. Schirmer
Tan Dun: Marco Polo
programme notes. Accessed 31 August 2009. *Kerner, Leighton

''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', 11 November 1997. Accessed via subscription 31 August 2009. *Smith, Patrick J.
"Tan Dun: Marco Polo"
'' Opera News'', December 1997. Accessed via subscription 31 August 2009. *White, Michael
"Huddersfield, centre of the musical universe"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 29 November 1998. Accessed 31 August 2009. {{Authority control Operas by Tan Dun Operas Operas set in China 1996 operas English-language operas Cultural depictions of Marco Polo Yuan dynasty in fiction Operas set in the 13th century Operas based on real people Operas about writers Cultural depictions of Kublai Khan Cultural depictions of William Shakespeare