Marco Polo

Even people with a taste for the avant-garde may require several listens to appreciate this first full-length opera by Tan Dun (b. 1957), which premiered in 1996 and has been performed in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Collaborating with librettist Paul Griffiths, the Chinese composer (residing in the U.S. since 1985) employs a musical idiom and instrumentation blending Western and Eastern influences here in an “opera within an opera,” in which the title character is divided into two: Marco the traveler and Polo the memory. Marco Polo's theme doesn't simply follow the legendary figure's physical journey from the Mediterranean to the Orient, but also looks at the cultural and spiritual aspects of the trek, while introducing a panoply of other characters—Dante, Scheherazade, Kublai Khan, a Kabuki-like narrator named Rustichello, and the personification of Water. The opera concludes at the Great Wall, which a reunited Marco and Polo must break through. The score runs the gamut from medieval-like chant to Chinese opera, with Indian, Tibetan, and Mongolian elements also apparent, often in strange, otherworldly combinations that Tan (in the “behind-the-scenes” featurette included as a DVD/Blu-ray bonus) calls the “music of tomorrow.” Directed by Pierre Audi, this 2008 production at Amsterdam's Het Muziektheater is conducted by Tan himself, with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra negotiating the difficult music with amazing skill, and all of the vocalists ably meeting the almost inhuman demands. A visually stunning production (especially on Blu-ray) with colorful, imaginative sets and costumes, Marco Polo is a heady brew requiring concentration, but should be of great interest to fans of contemporary opera. Presented in DTS and LPCM stereo on DVD and PCM 5.0 and stereo on Blu-ray, additional extras include an illustrated synopsis and a cast gallery. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)