Political Quotes

“H. Con. Res. 68 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. Gian Carlo Menotti was born July 7, 1911, at Cadegliano-Viconago, Italy. At the age of 7, under the guidance of his mother, he began to compose songs, and 4 years later he wrote the words and music of his first opera, ``The Death of Pierrot.'' Following the death of his father, his mother took him to the United States, where he was enrolled at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music. There he completed his musical studies. His first mature work, the one-act opera buffa, ``Amelia Goes to the Ball,'' was premiered in 1937, a success that led to a commission from the National Broadcasting Company to write an opera especially for radio, ``The Old Maid and the Thief,'' the first such commission ever given. ``The Consul,'' Menotti's first full-length work, won the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award as the best musical play of the year in 1954.”