Soprano Nicole Cabell (Juliette) and tenor Frédéric Antoun (Roméo ) perform in the new production of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. Photo by William Struhs.
Spoleto Festival USA was founded in 1977 as the American counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti began the Italian festival in 1958 as a forum for young American artists in Europe. The festival quickly became an artistic home 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. Mark your calendar to visit Charleston during Spoleto Festival 2011, May 27 - June 12, 2011.
When Maestro Menotti planned an American festival, he 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 was the perfect counterpart. A city that had been home to the first theater in America, the first ballet company in America, and is still home to the oldest musical organization in the country, Charleston is small enough to be dominated by non-stop arts events during the 17-day festival, but also large and sophisticated enough to provide a knowledgeable audience and appropriate theaters.
Gojo Masanosuke performs the role of the geisha in the world premiere of Geisha. Photo by William Struhs.
Spoleto Festival USA has maintained traditions of those first festivals such as a dedication to young artists, a fascination with contemporary effort, an enthusiasm for providing unusual performance opportunities to recognized masters in their fields, and a commitment to all the performing arts. Each year audience members experience a broad range of artistic styles and forms, including classical ballet; modern and post-modern dance; opera; chamber, symphonic, and choral music; jazz; theater; and the literary and visual arts. For 17 days each year, the arts become the most important activity in Charleston. Artists from around the world offer more than 120 performances each season with as many as ten performances on any given day. In addition, Piccolo Spoleto, the city-organized companion festival, schedules another 200 events over the same period of time.
Spoleto Festival USA has earned a reputation for offering programs of the highest artistic caliber, supporting new and innovative works, nurturing outstanding young artists, and expanding public appreciation of the arts. This focus has brought Spoleto international acclaim.
The New York Times reporting on the festival's 25th anniversary (in 2006) said, "Spoleto Festival, ...,has become a major and evidently permanent part of the American cultural landscape," while The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said, "At 25, Spoleto Festival USA felt young, vital, alive and ambitious." And of the 2008 event "Perhaps America's premier arts festival...".
A taste of past Spoleto festival programs:
Sara Baras performs with members of Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras in the production of Sabores. Photo by Paco Ruiz.
Opera Roméo et Juliette, in five acts by Charles-François Gounod; libretto by
Jules Barbier and Michel Carré after William Shakespeare's play; conductor,
Tommaso Placidi.
Don Giovanni, Ossia il Dissoluto Punito (The Libertine Punished), in two
acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte; conductor,
Emmanuel Villaume.
Dance
Paul Taylor Dance Company, artistic director, Paul Taylor.
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company: Blind Date, choreography and
direction, Bill T. Jones; original music and arrangements, Daniel Bernard
Roumain (DBR).
Called "the exquisite crown jewel of Spoleto," by The Nassau Herald, the Bank of America Chamber Music series, held in the Dock Street Theatre Photo by William Struhs
Theater Tristan & Yseult, a collaboration between Kneehigh Theatre and the National
Theatre.
Geisha, produced by TheatreWorks Singapore.
A Beautiful View, produced by da da kamera; writer and director.
Solo Turns: Monopoly!, created and performed by Mike Daisey.
Hip-Hop Theater, an Evening with Danny Hoch, written and performed by Danny
Hoch.
Circus
Circus Flora: Homage.
Music
Chamber Music Concerts; artistic director and host, Charles Wadsworth;
composer-in-residence, Kenji Bunch.
Orchestral Concert (Gaillard Auditorium): Don Juan, Op. 20 by Richard Strauss;
Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor by Gustav Mahler; conductor, Emmanuel
Villaume.
Orchestral Concert (Sottile Theatre): "Prelude" and "Liebestöd" from Tristan und
Isolde, by Richard Wagner; "Love Scene" from Roméo et Juliette, by Hector
Berlioz; Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, by Ludwig van Beethoven;
conductor, Emmanuel Villaume.
Westminster Choir Concerts, conductor, Joseph Flummerfelt; chorus master and
conductor, Andrew Megill; accompanist, Nancianne Parrella.
Choral-Orchestral Concert, Mass in C Minor, K427, by Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart; Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53, by Johannes Brahms; "La Tremenda Ultrice
Spada" from I Capuletti e i Montecchi, by Vincenzo Bellini; "Esulte Elisa, o mai
in giorno" from Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghliterra, by Giacomo Rossini; conductor,
Joseph Flummerfelt
Circus Flora Photo by William Struhs
Intermezzi
Music in Time Series; director and host, John Kennedy.
Jazz
Director, Michael Grofsorean
Solveig Slettahjell with Slow Motion Quintet
Marco Zurzolo
Hank Jones Trio
Kurt Elling with The Chicago Jazz Orchestra
Sérgio Santos
Marcus Tardelli
Visual Arts
Exhibit in conjunction with the Gibbes Museum of Art
Please visit spoletousa.org for full details and ticket information.
Please check the events calendar to find out what's happening during your trip to Charleston. You'll also find great restaurant and evening entertainment ideas in Dining & Cuisine.
Meet at Fleet! Casual, come-as-you-are, waterfront seafood restaurant. A destination unto itself. Housed in a 1940s retired naval building on the east side of the Charleston peninsula, Fleet Landing features fusion of classic and contemporary Southern seafood fare in a setting that celebrates the area’s waterfront heritage. Featured in Food & Wine Magazine in their trend spotting “Where to Go Next” column. Blue Plate Lunch Specials. Open 7-days a week.
Nestled in the gardens behind the Wentworth Mansion is one of Charleston's hidden gems. Circa 1886, named for the year the Wentworth Mansion was built, is home to some of Charleston's finest fare. With an extensive wine list and contemporary cuisine, this five-star restaurant offers diners an intimate evening that won't soon be forgotten. AAA Four Diamond Award Charleston restaurant; “Top 100 New Restaurants” Conde’ Nast Magazine; Wine Spectator winner & Dirona Award Winner.
Meet at Fleet! Casual, come-as-you-are, waterfront seafood restaurant. A destination unto itself. Housed in a 1940s retired naval building on the east side of the Charleston peninsula, Fleet Landing features fusion of classic and contemporary Southern seafood fare in a setting that celebrates the area’s waterfront heritage. Featured in Food & Wine Magazine in their trend spotting “Where to Go Next” column. Blue Plate Lunch Specials. Open 7-days a week.
Nestled in the gardens behind the Wentworth Mansion is one of Charleston's hidden gems. Circa 1886, named for the year the Wentworth Mansion was built, is home to some of Charleston's finest fare. With an extensive wine list and contemporary cuisine, this five-star restaurant offers diners an intimate evening that won't soon be forgotten. AAA Four Diamond Award Charleston restaurant; “Top 100 New Restaurants” Conde’ Nast Magazine; Wine Spectator winner & Dirona Award Winner. 
