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 Washington, Feb 16 - Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R-SC) today introduced a resolution honoring the life and accomplishments of Gian Carlo Menotti, founder of Charleston’s Spoleto Festival USA. Menotti played an integral part in bringing an American companion to the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy to Charleston. The measure is co-sponsored by the entire South Carolina delegation as a testament to the importance of Menotti’s life and the impact Menotti’s decision to bring the Spoleto to South Carolina.
“Gian Carlo Menotti was an incredible human being who devoted his life to enriching the artistic world,” Brown said. “Those of us in Charleston are extremely grateful for Menotti’s role in bringing Spoleto to the Lowcountry. Held in the charming venues of Charleston’s historic churches and theaters, Spoleto has provided thousands with the opportunity to share in the appreciation of the arts.”
Gian Carlo Menotti was born on July 7, 1911, in Cadegliano-Viconago, Italy. He began writing songs at age 7, and at age 11 wrote both the libretto and music for his first opera, The Death of Pierrot. Menotti began his formal musical training in1923 at Milan’s Verdi Conservatory. After the death of his father, Menotti and his mother immigrated to the United States, and he enrolled at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music. Menotti won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for his first full-length opera, and a second the second for his opera, The Saint of Bleecker Street.
In 1958, Menotti founded the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy, as a forum for young American artists in Europe. The organizers of the Festival of Two Worlds decided to plan a companion festival in the United States and searched for a city that would offer the charm of Spoleto, Italy. Menotti and the Spoleto USA organizers decided that Charleston, South Carolina, was the perfect counterpart to Spoleto, Italy, because Charleston was small enough to be dominated by nonstop arts events during the 17-day festival, but also large and sophisticated enough to provide a knowledgeable audience and appropriate theaters.
The Spoleto USA organizers also observed that Charleston had an extensive history of involvement with the arts, from housing the Nation’s first theater and ballet companies to housing the Nation’s oldest musical organization. Menotti founded the Spoleto Festival USA in 1977, and the festival quickly became a haven for a large group of artists. In his opening statement in the very first festival program, Menotti remarked “just as the composer - without being able to define ‘inspiration’ - knows when he is inspired, I knew that Charleston would be the town of my choice as soon I set foot in it, and Charleston, with its enchantment, will confirm to the beholder the wisdom of this choice."
The Spoleto Festival USA currently claims an audience of between 70,000 and 80,000 attendees. The 2007 Spoleto Festival USA will celebrate the life of Gian Carlo Menotti., who died on February 1, 2007, in a hospital in Monte Carlo.
Given the non-controversial nature of his resolution in honor of Menotti, Brown is optimistic that the House will quickly take up the measure and approve it.
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