III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 68 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2007 

Received 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and accomplishments of Gian Carlo 

Menotti and recognizing the success of the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, which he 

founded. 

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; 

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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 

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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 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress honors the life and accom3 plishments of Gian Carlo Menotti and recognizes the sucmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cess of the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South 

2 Carolina, which he founded. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 25, 2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 

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