Marco Polo's director: Opera opens up the West's imagination to the East

21世纪经济报道记者胡慧茵 广州报道

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy. At the same time, in order to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the death of the legendary Italian traveler Marco Polo, the Guangzhou Grand Theater recently re-staged the original opera "Marco Polo". The play will be performed on May 3rd and 4th.

On May 2, a reporter from 21st Century Business Herald visited the crew at the Guangzhou Grand Theater and had a direct look at the rehearsal scene. Marco Polo’s director Shi Jingfu told the reporter that Marco Polo is said to have written a lot about China. What is very attractive to Westerners is that this is what happened in the mysterious East. In addition to the music, the story and characters, all the costumes and backgrounds, as well as the projections on the scrolls, are all Eastern elements with Western aesthetics, which are very attractive. "All these elements added together make westerners feel that the drama not only fits their aesthetics, but also opens up their imagination of the East.”