On May 6th, Italy's leading television station Rai reported on the revival of the original opera Marco Polo and its paired GDToday Salon at Guangzhou Opera House on May 3rd and 4th. In its flagship newscast TG1, Rai highlighted the role that the events played in bridging the cultures of the East and the West.
Screenshot from TG1, Rai 1
The telecast looked at events held in Guangzhou to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the passing of the Italian traveler Marco Polo, particularly the recent revival of Marco Polo, a three-act opera commissioned by the Guangzhou Opera House, and its paired GDToday Salon “An Encounter with Macro Polo”.
While recounting the inspiration and legacies Marco Polo had left to his later generation in promoting cultural exchanges, Rai listed the newly revived Marco Polo as an example of such. "The music of the German composer, Enjott Schneider, manages to combine the melody in the Chinese language with the Macao orchestra conducted by Qian Junping," Rai reported and explained that the Macao orchestra is a deliberate choice as Macao is also "a bridge between the cultures of the East and the West."
The newscast also featured the series of events—GDToday Salon "An Encounter with Marco Polo," which included an exhibition of Guangdong cultural heritage, and a salon on the Sino-Italy relationship hosted by GDToday in conjunction with the restaging of Marco Polo between May 3rd and 4th.
Aniello Puorto, the reporter from Rai, told GDToday that he was impressed by the exhibition of Guangdong culture, which displayed Guangdong painted porcelain (Guangcai) and Guangdong embroidery (Guangxiu), two significant commodities of Guangdong’s export to Europe through the ancient Silk Road. “It’s a proof of the cultural exhchanges between China and the West. Guangzhou was one of the trade points of the Silk Road. The exchange is not only cultural but also in trade and commece between Europe and China,” Puorto said.
Screenshot from TG1, Rai 1
As one of the most popular broadcasters in Italy, Rai maintains a large share of viewership in Italy. Its flagship channel Rai 1 frequented as the the top national channel on the ranking of viewship share in Italy.
Reporter | Chen Siyuan
Editor | Olivia, Nan, Steven, Will
Image | TG1 of Rai 1
