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

One Hundred Tenth Congress

of the

United States of America 

AT THE FIRST SESSION 

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;
H. Con. Res. 68—2

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.