Description
Abstract
This study examines the cross-cultural dynamics and shifting power structures in musical theater through a comparative analysis of Tan Dun’s Marco Polo (1996) and the 2024 Sino-Italian co-production of the same title. In the context of globalization, cultural exchange remains conditioned by historical power structures and established narrative frameworks. As an emblematic figure of East-West encounters, Marco Polo’s operatic reinterpretations reflect both historical memory and contemporary artistic market forces shaping the representation of the "Other." By analyzing textual structures, musical composition, character portrayal, and instrumental choices, this study critically assesses the ideological underpinnings of these two productions through the lenses of postcolonial theory and global cultural dissemination.
Tan Dun’s Marco Polo employs nonlinear storytelling and fragmented temporal structures, drawing from the "virtuality" concept in Asian traditional theater to present Polo’s journey as a negotiation of cultural identity. The opera’s sonic landscape traverses medieval Gregorian chant, Mongolian long-song, Indian tabla rhythms, Tibetan throat singing, and Chinese opera, constructing a cross-cultural auditory collage. Meanwhile, role reversals challenge the binary division of Western subjectivity and Eastern otherness. In contrast, the 2024 Marco Polo adheres to a conventional three-act, five-scene structure, embedding East-West dialogue within a European aesthetic framework. The personification of Venice, the incorporation of barcarolle rhythms, and the juxtaposition of theorbo and electric guitar highlight both its cross-cultural ambitions and the global art market’s recontextualization of Eastern culture.
This study reveals two divergent yet interconnected approaches: Tan Dun’s experimental disruption of Western operatic norms through fragmentation and sonic hybridity, and the 2024 production’s aestheticized recalibration of cultural power relations. These approaches underscore a broader question: How can non-Western cultures assert agency in cross-cultural dialogue within a Western-dominated artistic landscape? Can cultural power shifts transcend mere formal inclusivity to achieve a genuine reconfiguration of discourse? These questions extend beyond artistic practice, addressing the redistribution of cultural authority in a globalized world.
keywords: Cross-cultural, postcolonial theory, cultural power, globalization, Marco Polo, Opera
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