Recorded live at the Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, on 13th and 18th November 2008.
Charles Workman (Polo), Sarah Castle (Marco), Stephen Richardson (Kublai Khan), Nancy Allen Lundy (Water), Zhang Jun (Shadow 1/Rustichello/Li Po), Tania Kross (Shadow 2/Sheherazada/Mahler/Queen), Stephen Bryant (Shadow 3/Dante/Shakespeare) & Mu Na (Chinese/Arabian dancer)
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra & Cappella Amsterdam, Tan Dun (musical director) & Pierre Audi (stage director)
In ‘Marco Polo, an opera within an opera’, composer Tan Dun portrays the Venetian explorer’s travels to the Far East as a journey of both inner and physical discovery, a voyage depicting spiritual experiences as well as a geographical expedition. At the same time the work, on a libretto by Paul Griffiths, can be seen as a compositional adventure of the composer himself, unifying the various cultural worlds he occupies: a blend of Western avant garde and Oriental traditions. Pierre Audi’s mythical staging and Jean Kalman’s fabulous set design complement the composer’s own musical direction, forging the dazzlingly versatile soloists, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Capella Amsterdam to a stunning symbiosis of elements across time and space, a true testimony to cultures intertwined in globalisation.
Tan Dun’s Marco Polo was, for me, a multi-dimensional experience which went beyond my expectations and indeed overwhelmed my senses… Here was an opera of our generation: a fusion of elements across time and space, a true testimony to the way our worlds have become intertwined in the globalisation process.’ Anne Ku, Bonjournal.com
Bonus material:
Illustrated synopsis.
Cast gallery.
Documentary: The Music of Tomorrow – including interviews with the creative team and principle cast members.
Click here for alternative recordings of this work.
