ADRIA (Rovigo) – Seven hundred years ago Marco Polo died, the stage representation of the “A. Conservatory” will be dedicated to his figure. Buzzolla”, in collaboration with the affiliated lower secondary school.
If travel is a metaphor for growth, Marco Polo is its archetype. Interpreting the stories of the characters of “Il Milione”, therefore, is a lesson in history and life together. Then, when words leave room for music to recount the vicissitudes, meetings and exchanges, the experiential fulfillment is served.
Is called “Dream of the East. Marco Polo and Puccini along the Silk Road”: it is the profane cantata with stage performance for choir and orchestra alone, which the “A. Buzzolla”, directed by Paolo Zoccaratoand the affiliated middle school that bears the same name, will stage on Sunday 9 June, at 9pm, at the municipal theater of Adria, directed by Monica Stefani. The booklet is from Jacob Zanivanthe music is by Alberto La Roccathe Conservatory orchestra is directed by Ambrogio De Palmathe choir from Carlo Pavese.
The actors will be the students of the four classes of the lower secondary school, belonging to the Adria Due comprehensive institute, directed by Arianna Vianello. With costumes and sets created by the director and the art teacher, Angela Grigolato (also thanks to the contributions of the sponsors Fondazione Mecenati, Banca Adria and the Duoccio company), will present to the public the main stages of one of the most compelling journeys in history, that of Marco Polo, an adventure that winds between Europe and the East, destined to leave an indelible mark on the relationships between the two worlds. A sign left imprinted in a book, “Il Milione”, a masterpiece of travel literature and a true geographical encyclopedia which contains essential knowledge about the East up to the 13th century.
It’s easy to immerse yourself in Marco’s story for the young people of the “A. Buzzolla”, who have been working on the tests with their teachers for months Elena Cavallini, Annalisa Andreello, Alessandro Marcato And Serena Agostini. Marco was only a few years older than them, in fact, when, in 1271, he set sail from Venice together with his father and uncle, all heading towards the East along the so-called Silk Road. After crossing the Holy Land, Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, the Gobi desert, the Polos arrive in Katai, in Northern China, where the court of Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of the Mongols, resides. The journey lasted four years. The Polos’ stay in China will last another 17 years. Upon his return, Marco will end up in a Genoese prison, “victim” of the centuries-old conflict between Venice and Genoa for mercantile dominance in the Mediterranean. There he will meet Rustichello da Pisa, a reporter of the time who will collect in “Il Milione” the stories of Marco, who has now become a man thanks to the experiences that have elevated him above every scheme, limit, intolerance. In a word, which made him free even if he was a prisoner in contingency.
A true “authentic task” for the students of the “A” secondary school. Buzzolla” and a wish to be “explorers” of their life which comes directly from Marco who, on his deathbed, in the face of incredulous people, says: “And I haven’t told even half of what I saw and did”.
