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 domi-
nated 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 concur-
ring), 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.