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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 68 Received in Senate (RDS)]

  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;
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.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 25, 2007.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.
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