Gian Carlo Menotti

Date of Birth: July 7, 1911

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Date of Death: February 1, 2007

Biography

Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist, known for his operas and operatic works that bridged the gap between traditional and contemporary music. Born in Cadegliano-Viconago, Italy, Menotti displayed a talent for music at an early age, composing his first opera at just eleven years old. He pursued formal music education at the Milan Conservatory and later at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he became a protégé of Rosario Scalero. Menotti’s career took off with the success of his opera “Amelia Goes to the Ball” in 1937. He went on to compose numerous other operas, including “The Consul” and “The Medium,” both of which received critical acclaim and won Pulitzer Prizes. Menotti also founded the Spoleto Festival in Italy and its American counterpart, the Spoleto Festival USA, which continue to celebrate the arts to this day. Menotti’s works are characterized by their emotional depth, lyrical melodies, and the seamless integration of drama and music.

5 Interesting Facts about Gian Carlo Menotti

1. Gian Carlo Menotti was the first composer to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music more than once, with his operas “The Consul” (1950) and “The Saint of Bleecker Street” (1955).

2. Menotti wrote the libretto for Samuel Barber’s opera “Vanessa,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1958.

3. He founded the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, in 1958, to celebrate and promote cultural exchange between Europe and America.

4. Menotti’s opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” was the first opera specifically composed for television, premiering on NBC on Christmas Eve in 1951.

5. He was openly gay and had a long-term relationship with fellow composer Samuel Barber, with whom he shared a house in Mount Kisco, New York, known as “Capricorn.”