Spoleto Festival USA 2005 in Charleston

May 27 - June 12 2005

Spoleto Festival USA has firmly established itself as one of the world's major arts festivals and as one of the most significant arts organizations in the Southeast, presenting 100 world premieres and 93 American premieres since its inception in 1977. Past premieres and commissions include the highly acclaimed Peter and Wendy by Lee Breuer, Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams, The American Clock by Arthur Miller, The Mechanical Organ by the Nikolais Dance Theatre, Miracolo díAmore by Martha Clarke, Empty Places by Laurie Anderson, Hydrogen Jukebox by Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg, Praise House by Urban Bush Women, Three Tales by Steve Reich and Beryl Korot, and the world premiere of a Spoleto commissioned work Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijov.

One of Spoleto festival's tenets is to provide young performers the opportunity to work with veteran directors, designers and performers. World-renowned artists who performed early in their careers at Spoleto Festival USA include Renée Fleming, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, the Emerson String Quartet and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

History:

Spoleto Festival USA was founded in 1977 by Gian Carlo Menotti, Christopher Keene and others involved in the Festival of Two Worlds as the American counterpart to that festival held annually in Spoleto, Italy. A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Menotti began the Italian festival in 1958 as a forum for young American artists in Europe. The festival quickly became a haven for a large group of artists, both traditional and experimental, who found the mix of dance, theater, opera, music, and the visual arts to be both exciting and stimulating. When the organizers of the Festival of Two Worlds planned an American festival, they searched for an American city that would offer the charm of Spoleto, Italy, and also its wealth of theaters, churches, and other performance spaces. Charleston, South Carolina was the perfect counterpart. 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.

To read more about Spoleto Festival USA, visit the Spoleto USA website.