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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 68 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.68
                                                  Agreed to May 10, 2007

                       One Hundred Tenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
            the fourth day of January, two thousand and seven

                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas Gian Carlo Menotti was born on July 7, 1911, in Cadegliano-
  Viconago, Italy;

Whereas Mr. Menotti began writing songs at age 7, and at age 11 wrote 
  both the libretto and music for his first opera, The Death of 
  Pierrot;

Whereas Mr. Menotti began his formal musical training in 1923 at 
  Milan's Verdi Conservatory;

Whereas after the death of his father, Mr. Menotti and his mother 
  emigrated to the United States, and he enrolled at Philadelphia's 
  Curtis Institute of Music;

Whereas Mr. Menotti's first full-length opera, The Consul, premiered in 
  1950, and it won both the Pulitzer Prize for Music and, in 1954, the 
  New York Drama Circle Critics' Award for Musical Play of the Year;

Whereas in 1951, Mr. Menotti wrote his beloved Christmas opera, Amahl 
  and the Night Visitors, for the Hallmark Hall of Fame;

Whereas Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first opera ever written 
  for television in the United States and was first aired on Christmas 
  Eve in 1951;

Whereas Amahl and the Night Visitors was such a success that it became 
  an annual Christmas tradition and remains Mr. Menotti's most popular 
  work to this day;

Whereas in 1955, Mr. Menotti won a second Pulitzer Prize for his opera, 
  The Saint of Bleecker Street;

Whereas in 1958, Mr. Menotti founded the Festival dei Due Mondi 
  (Festival of the Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy, as a forum for young 
  American artists in Europe;

Whereas when the organizers of the Festival of Two Worlds decided to 
  plan a companion festival in the United States, they searched for a 
  city that would offer the charm of Spoleto, Italy;

Whereas Mr. Menotti and the Spoleto USA organizers decided that 
  Charleston, South Carolina, was the perfect counterpart to Spoleto, 
  Italy, because Charleston is 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;

Whereas the Spoleto USA organizers also observed that Charleston has 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;

Whereas Mr. Menotti founded the Spoleto Festival USA in 1977, and the 
  festival quickly became a haven for a large group of artists, both 
  traditional and experimental, who were attracted to the mix of dance, 
  theater, opera, music, and visual arts;

Whereas the Spoleto Festival USA has maintained traditions of the 
  Festival of Two Worlds, such as a dedication to young artists, an 
  enthusiasm for providing unusual performance opportunities to 
  recognized masters in their fields, and a commitment to all forms of 
  the performing arts, including classical ballet, modern and post-
  modern dance, opera, chamber, symphonic, and choral music, jazz, 
  theater, and visual arts;

Whereas the Spoleto Festival USA currently claims an audience of 
  between 70,000 and 80,000 attendees each year; and

Whereas Gian Carlo Menotti died on February 1, 2007, in a hospital in 
  Monte Carlo: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That Congress honors the life and accomplishments of Gian Carlo Menotti 
and recognizes the success of the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, 
South Carolina, which he founded.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.
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