[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 121, 110th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

121 STAT. 2585
 
[NOTE: May 10, 2007 -  [H.Con.Res.68] GIAN CARLO MENOTTI AND THE
SPOLETO FESTIVAL--HONORING AND RECOGNITION

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

[[Page 2586]]
121 STAT. 2586

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.

Agreed to May 10, 2007.