"Marco Polo & Princess Blue" Symphonic Fantasy Epic
Singapore Chinese Orchestra

“An extremely versatile orchestra.” – The Straits Times

Written by renowned Chinese composer Liu Yuen, this world premiere presents a new musical form which Singapore Chinese Orchestra music director Tsung Yeh calls a “symphonic epic”.

Marco Polo and Princess Blue tells the story of Italian explorer Marco Polo who has to escort Princess Blue to Persia on his return home from China.

During the voyage that takes them through Southeast Asia and passing by Singapore, Marco falls in love with the Princess who is already betrothed to the Prince of Persia.

A first for the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Marco Polo and Princess Blue sees the orchestra bridging two different musical traditions within a single work. Craig Schulman of Les Misérables fame takes on the role of Marco Polo while Chinese soprano Wu Bi Xia is Princess Blue. This semi-staged production also features an 80-strong adult choir and 40-strong children’s choirs from Singapore Youth Choir, Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (Primary) Choir and Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) Choir.

Known for his large-scale works, Liu Yuen’s compositions have won many awards in China and his music is variously described as possessing “real vitality”, “profound sentiments” and “ebullience”.