Pulitzer Prize Winner Gian Carlo Menotti Dies at 95

Gian Carlo Menotti, the composer of such operas as Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Consul, and The Saint of Bleecker Street, died today at a hospital in Monaco. He was 95.

Menotti was born on July 7, 1911 in Cadegliano, Italy. At the age of seven, under the guidance of his mother, he began to compose songs; four years later, he wrote the words and music of his first opera, The Death of Pierrot. In 1923, he began his formal musical training at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan. His mother later took him to the United States, where he was enrolled at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music.

His first mature work, the one-act opera buffa Amelia Goes to the Ball, premiered in 1937; its success led to a commission from the National Broadcasting Company to write an opera especially for radio: The Old Maid and the Thief.

Several of Menotti’s operas were presented on Broadway, including a double bill of the one acts The Telephone and The Medium, and two works for which he won the Pulitzer Price for Music: The Consul and The Saint of Bleecker Street. In addition, Menotti wrote the libretto for Vanessa, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958; the opera has music by the late Samuel Barber, with whom Menotti lived for many years.

Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera specifically composed for television, was first performed and broadcast live by NBC on December 24, 1951. It has since become one of the most popular English language works in the operatic repertoire. Menotti directed many productions of his operas, and he wrote the music for several ballets and choral works.

In 1957, he founded the Festival of Two Worlds in the Italian town of Spoleto, with the goal of bringing together creative forces in U.S. and European culture. Among the most notable events that occurred during the festival over the years were Shirley Verrett’s first appearance in the title role of Carmen, Patrice Chereau’s production of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algieri, and the world premiere of Tennessee Williams’ play The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore.

In 1977, Menotti founded the Spoleto U.S.A. festival in Charleston, South Carolina. He was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 1984.