Spoleto Festival USA

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Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi (the Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto, Italy. The annual 17-day late-spring event showcases both established and emerging artists in more than 150 performances of opera, dance, theater, classical music, and jazz.

The 2013 festival opened on May 24, 2013, with a ceremony at Charleston's City Hall.

History of the Charleston festival

When Italian organizers planned an American festival, they searched for a city that would offer the charm of Spoleto, Italy, and also its wealth of theaters, churches, and other performance spaces. Charleston was selected as an ideal location, with Menotti saying of Charleston, "It's intimate, so you can walk from one theatre to the next. It has Old World charm in architecture and gardens. Yet it's a community big enough to support the large number of visitors to the festival."[1]

The festival experienced financial problems from its outset which produced a quick turnover in leadership. On September 27, 1976, Theodore "Ted" Stern, the president of the College of Charleston at that time, was named as the new chairman of the Charleston Coordinating Committee after the departure of Hugh Lane.[2] Personality disputes also arose involving Menotti. Menotti, who had served as the artistic director for the festival since its founding, claimed in 1991 that he was not interested in renewing his three-year contract when it ended in 1992 over artistic differences.[3] The board did not officially accept his resignation immediately, but Menotti stood by his intentions, blaming artistic differences with the board and lack of personal control: "I no longer feel it is my festival, and this has been my life for 15 years. I feel a bit lonely among them. I'm treated like a clerk."[4]

Most significantly, Menotti had a poor relationship with the festival's general manager, Nidel Redden, who challenged programming decisions, expense accounts for Menotti, and administrative decisions by Menotti. Two camps developed on the board, splitting support between those backing Redden and those (including Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.) who supported Menotti. Mayor Riley supported Menotti so strongly that he threatened to withdraw city support for the festival if Menotti were pushed out.[5] Eventually, in May 1991, Menotti issued an ultimatum that either Redden and his supporters resign or Menotti would. In August 1991, Redden resigned,[6] as did 19 of the 46 board members the next month.

The tumult affected the scope of the festival the following year; the budget for 1992's festival was $4.6 million, down about $1 million from 1991, and covering about 20 percent fewer presentations (103 in 1992 compared with over 120 in 1991).[7] In 1990 and 1991, the festival had raised about 44% of its budget (about $2.4 million) from private donations, but in 1992, the festival raised only $1.2 million from such donations, about 33% of its $3.6 million budget that year.[8]

By 1993, personal conflicts reached a breaking point, with Menotti and the board of the Charleston festival arguing over those in charge of the festival, its artistic direction, and financing. Menotti, who had threatened the end the festival in Charleston left the festival in 1993; the local board, however, owned the rights to the name of the festival and pledged to continue it without Menotti.[9] Milton Rhodes was appointed the general manager in November 1993, and he immediately set about righting the finances, including negotiating the cancellation of about $400,000 in debt and securing a loan from South Carolina to cover another $600,000 of debt.[10] Still, the financial difficulties continued, and the 1995 festival lost an additional $900,000.[11]

In July 1995, Redden was recruited to return to the festival on an interim basis to help it overcome a debt of more than $1,000,000.[12] The 1995 festival went over budget by 20%, and its full-time staff was cut in half.[13] During his first tenure with the festival, Redden had been successful in repairing the festival's flagging finances and left the festival having gone from a $500,000 deficit to a surplus of $1.4 million.[14] Upon his return in 1996, Redden was again successful in turning the finances of the festival around, quickly raising $1.6 million and cutting debt in half.[15]

The Festival's mission and programming philosophy

The offices of Spoleto Festival USA are located in the Middleton-Motte-Pinckney House at 14 George St., Charleston, South Carolina.
One of the Festival's tenets is to provide young artists the opportunity to work with veteran directors, designers and performers. World-renowned artists who performed at Spoleto Festival USA early in their careers include Renée Fleming, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Yo-Yo Ma.

Each year, Spoleto Festival USA produces its own operas, which are rarely performed masterpieces by well-known composers or traditional works presented in new ways, and also presents theater, dance and music ranging from classical to jazz. Since its inception, the Festival has presented over 100 international and U.S. premieres, notably Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams and The American Clock by Arthur Miller.

Piccolo Spoleto

The official companion festival to Spoleto Festival USA, is operated by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs.[16] After two years of mini-festivals, Piccolo Spoleto was created as an official part of the overall Spoleto program in 1979.[17] Whereas Spoleto Festival USA features artists and performers of national and international renown, Piccolo Spoleto highlights outstanding local and regional artists with several hundred performances throughout the city. Piccolo Spoleto is "the perfect complement to the international scope of its parent festival and its 700 events in 17 days transform Charleston into an exhilarating celebration of performing, literary and visual arts."[18] Piccolo Spoleto concludes the day before the main festival with a free concert in Hampton Park.[19] Except for 2001 (when they were held on Daniel Island),[20] the closing ceremonies have been held at Hampton Park since 1984 when the event coincided with the reopening of the refurbished park.[21]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Debbie Dalhouse (March 26, 1976). "World-Renowned Artists to Gather in Charleston". Spartanburg Herald. p. C8. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  2. ↑ Jerry R. Sanders (Sep 28, 1976). "Stern to Head Spoleto". Charleston News & Courier. p. 1A. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  3. ↑ Frank P. Jarrell (Oct 31, 1990). "Menotti to remain with Spoleto USA". Charleston News & Courier. p. 1B. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Larry McShane (Oct 14, 1990). "Menotti affirms decision to quit as Spoletto director". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. B3. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  5. ↑ Barbara S. Williams (June 2, 1991). "Hopes hang on fragile Spoleto cease-fire". Charleston News & Courier. p. 16-A. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  6. ↑ "Redden quits as head of Spoleto Festival". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Aug 13, 1991. p. A2. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  7. ↑ Allan Kozinn (May 17, 1992). "The Calm After the Storm at Spoleto?". The New York TImes. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  8. ↑ "Debt-ridden Spoleto looking for a new chief executive". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Oct 22, 1993. p. C3. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  9. ↑ Jeffrey Day (Oct 25, 1993). "Board: Spoleto will survive without Menotti". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. B3. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  10. ↑ James R. Oestreich (June 1, 1994). "The First Spoleto Without Menotti". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Milton Rhodes: Spoleto Fest bids chief adieu". Wilmington Morning Star. Sep 1, 1995. p. 2A. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Spoleto Manager Returns". The New York Times. July 30, 1995. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Spoleto Festival USA tries to cover expenses". The Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Aug 13, 1995. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  14. ↑ Bruce Smith (Oct 3, 1995). "Old general manager returning to Spoleto". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. B4. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Spoleto USA back on track". Wilmington Morning Star. May 20, 1996. p. 3B. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  16. ↑ Barbara S. Williams (Apr 18, 1979). "Piccolo Spoleto Plans Grow". Charleston News & Courier. p. B1. Retrieved June 3, 2013. 
  17. ↑ Barbara S. Williams (Apr 30, 1980). "Piccolo Spoleto Will Encompass More Activities". Charleston News & Courier. p. B5. Retrieved June 3, 2013. 
  18. ↑ Piccolo Spoleto Festival website
  19. ↑ Terry Joyce (June 10, 1984). "Piccolo wraps up festival with variety of act". Charleston News & Courier. p. A4. Retrieved June 3, 2013. 
  20. ↑ Dottie Ashley (June 9, 2001). "Piccolo Finales moves to different location". Charleston Post & Courier. p. A15. Retrieved June 3, 2013. 
  21. ↑ "Hampton Park Beautification". Charleston News & Courier. May 22, 1984. p. A1. Retrieved June 3, 2013. 

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