Xavier Laurent van de Poll, a Dutch doctoral student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, has earned a spot in the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation's 2025 major art initiative for his original opera The Dutch Mandarin.

His project was one of three from the conservatory selected for funding and marks the first time an international student at the school has been chosen for a provincial-level major art project.

Van de Poll's opera explores the life of Robert van Gulik, a renowned Dutch sinologist, diplomat, and author. Inspired by the idea of blending Western opera and traditional Chinese Peking opera, van de Poll developed the concept during his master's studies in London and brought it to life in Shanghai.

"Only in Shanghai could I truly immerse myself in Chinese musical traditions," he said. "Here, I have the instruments, the mentors and the cultural depth I could never access back home. It's where I've found the answers I've been looking for."

With strong support from his mentor Professor Chen Musheng and encouragement from van Gulik's descendants, van de Poll has spent years shaping a cross-cultural dialogue through music.

The project exemplifies Shanghai's growing role in nurturing international talent and advancing artistic collaboration across cultures.

Source: Official WeChat account of International Students Office at Shanghai Conservatory of Music at "SHCM-ISO"