Luxury Guide

Spoleto Festival USA

Each spring, the Spoleto Festival USA takes over the historic theaters, churches and outdoor venues of Charleston with more than 120 performances by renowned artists and emerging performers. Spoleto Festival USA was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti, Christopher Keene and others, who sought to create an American counterpart to their annual Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Looking for a city that would provide the charm of Spoleto as well as its wealth of theaters, churches and other performances spaces, they selected Charleston as the ideal location. The historic city provided a perfect fit: intimate enough that the festival would captivate the entire city; yet cosmopolitan enough to provide an enthusiastic audience and robust infrastructure. In the decades since its inception, Spoleto Festival USA has firmly established itself as one of the world's leading festivals, presenting more than 200 world or American premieres. Notable past premieres and commissions include: Monkey: Journey to the West by Chen Shi-Zheng, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett; 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 d'Amore 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 Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijav. World-renowned artists who performed early in their careers at Spoleto Festival USA include Renée Flemming, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, the Emerson String Quartet and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Showcased disciplines include opera, theater, dance, jazz, as well as the visual arts. For more information, please call (843) 722-2764 or visit www.spoletousa.org.