From May 3rd to 4th, the original opera Marco Polo was brought back to the stage at Guangzhou Opera House. In company with its revival, GDToday hosted a series of events titled GDToday Salon "An Encounter with Marco Polo", including an exhibition and a panel discussion, to look at Guangdong’s connection with the ancient Silk Road in the past and the Sino-Italian relationship in the future.
Mattia Romeo, an Italian influencer who has been living in China since 2006 and the host of the panel discussion on the evening of May 4th, shared his experience in the events and explained why he thinks there should be more “Marco Polo(s)”. His sharing is not only about the Italian traveler but also about the opera and the events.
More information does not necessarily mean more understanding
Compared with the time of Marco Polo, the current world is in some sense not separated. People can immerse themselves in a sea of information about any other cultures on the planet with just a quick click on their screens. However, in Romeo's opinion, even though the world is connected by the Internet, it does not necessarily mean people can understand each other. He made a distinction between knowing and understanding. While the former is more about information or facts, the latter requires the whole story to be told, which needs time and storytellers to connect dots and pieces of information.
“Back at the time 700 years ago, you had a lot of time to break down every single piece of information to think about that and to study and to understand. But now we don't have it. It seems that we are running against time. So we have a lot of information, but we don't have people that help us to understand,” Romeo explained, “So that's why I think it's necessary to have more of Marco Polo(s) or Maria Polo(s). ”
The peacemaker in opera Marco Polo makes the old story modern
Back in 2018, when the opera Marco Polo premiered, Romeo was surprised by the idea of writing a new opera in the 21st century. For him, opera is like an "old" friend. His father is an opera singer, and he studied piano for six years. Going to the theater means listening to some old music written by composers such as Puccini or Wagner from more than a hundred years ago. When he heard that Guangzhou Opera House had created an original opera in 2018, he thought it must have been a big challenge, but one tackled smartly and beautifully.
Wen Tianxiang and the Song Army
Adopting the narrative framework of "an Italian's travel in China," Marco Polo places the Italian traveler in the political twists between the Song and Yuan dynasties. In the opera, when Wen Tianxiang has to lead the Song army in their fight against the Yuan, he expresses his wish that "one's happiness does not cause misfortune to others; one's palace does not ruin others' roofs." Even though the story is quite old and has been told many times, Romeo sees its modern relevance in Wen's lyrics. "(Nowadays,) we are not fighting between dynasties, but we have a lot of powers fighting or trying to find a way to get along on the surface of the planet," Romeo said, "That was very interesting because it's something that happened 700 years ago, but still, it’s is very modern."
GDToday Salon explored the Sino-Italian relationship from various perspectives
On the evening of May 4th, the GDToday Salon "An Encounter with Marco Polo" was concluded with a global gathering that promoted cultural exchanges. Over 200 participants, including consulates general and chambers of commerce from 29 countries in Guangzhou, as well as guests from home and abroad, attended the event. The event began with an exhibition of Italian painter Sandro Trotti's "The Reverie of Marco Polo" and was highlighted by a heated discussion on the Sino-Italian relationship, presented by four panelists.
GDToday Salon "An Encounter with Marco Polo"
Days before the event, when Romeo received the invitation to join the discussion as the host, he was amazed by the list of panelists. "We had people from the opera, the writer, the Guangzhou Library, and Italian friends," he said. As the guests came from different sectors, Romeo keenly observed that the event explored the Sino-Italian relationship from various perspectives, including art, culture, commerce, and media. "It was like a complete way to explore the possibilities and the combinations between the two countries," he said.
Reporter | Chen Siyuan
Editor | Olivia, Steven, Will, James
Video | Axin
Poster | Lulu
Photo | Guangzhou Opera House, GDToday
