Honoring the life and accomplishments of Gian Carlo Menotti and recognizing the success of the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, which he founded.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 68, a resolution honoring the life and accomplishments of Gian Carlo Menotti, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 95.

As cochair of the congressional Italian American delegation, I am especially proud to be here today to honor Gian Carlo Menotti. This award-winning composer and champion of artists was one of the most significant composers to emerge after World War II.

A native of Italy, he was the sixth of ten children. He began writing songs when he was 7 years of age. If you can flash back to when we were 7 years of age, I know that maybe the Speaker was writing songs, but I wasn't. He wrote both the libretto and music for his first opera, ``The Death of Pierrot.'' He was an immigrant. So we are not only talking about his life, we are talking about all of those immigrants who came here with nothing and made something that everybody was affected by in his life.

He came to this country in 1928. And his first full-length opera was ``The Consul,'' which premiered in 1950. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music and in 1954 the New York Drama Circle Critics' Award for Musical Play of the Year. The piece was translated into 12 languages and performed in no fewer than 20 countries.

In 1951 he wrote the Christmas opera ``Amahl and the Night Visitors,'' the first opera ever written for television in the United States. It first aired on Christmas Eve in 1951, and it remains the most popular work to this day.

In 1958 he founded the Festival dei Due Mondi, which is the Festival of the Two Worlds, in Spoleto, Italy, as a forum for young American artists who were in Europe. This was a place for them to go to really bevel their skills so that they can communicate to the rest of the world the beauty of music.

When the organizers of the Festival of Two Worlds searched for a city, they went to Charleston, a great city which Congressman Wilson spoke of, and I think that is where he was born. So they gave us not only Congressman Wilson, but they also gave us great music. It is a beautiful city, and they saw what was in Spoleto, Italy, and they tried to replicate that.

Mr. Menotti founded the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston in 1977, and it has since maintained the tradition, and you heard the speaker previously speak about how many people go to that festival.

I am proud to lend my voice today to the chorus of those in support of this resolution.

True, Mr. Speaker, there was no TV series or reality TV reflecting the genius of this man. Thank God. His music spoke for itself and sounded for itself. And when we talk about television and what goes on the tube and what passes for reality and the series that we see and are exposed to that are supposed to reflect to us the ethnicity of certain groups, it is shameful that we do not give presence to this beautiful immigrant who gave his life, as the individual we honored last year, who painted the inside of this Capitol and wound up with nothing in his pocket at the end of it. These are the people that made America. Not the people that get whacked on series. And thank God it is going to be over pretty soon.

So we celebrate the accomplishments of Gian Carlo Menotti not just for Italians, not just for Italian Americans, but for all of us. We are all immigrants. We are all immigrants. And so we say that word respectfully as we move towards the discussion and the debate about what our immigration policy will be later on in this year. And hopefully we will come to salient solutions which reflect the best of our immigrant population, every group, regardless of which continent you came here from.

So thank you, Madam Congresswoman, and thank you, Mr. Wilson from South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 68. This resolution honors the life and accomplishments of Gian Carlo Menotti, and recognizes the success of the Spoleto Festival USA, which he founded in my birthplace of Charleston, South Carolina.

Born in Italy, near Lake Magiore and the Swiss border, Mr. Menotti began writing songs at the age of 7. By 11 he wrote both the story line and music for his first opera, ``The Death of Pierrot,'' and shortly thereafter began his formal musical training at Milan's Verdi Conservatory.

After the death of his father, Menotti and his mother immigrated to the United States, where he enrolled at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music.

In 1951 Mr. Menotti wrote his beloved Christmas opera, ``Amahl and the Night Visitors,'' for the Hallmark Hall of Fame. ``Amahl and the Night Visitors'' was the first opera ever written for television in the United States and was first aired on Christmas Eve in 1951. ``Amahl and the Night Visitors'' was such a success that it became an annual Christmas tradition and remains Mr. Menotti's most famous popular work to this day.

In 1958 he founded the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. This festival was intended to bring opera to a popular audience and helped launch the careers of such artists as singer Shirley Verrett and choreographers Paul Taylor and Twyla Tharp.

In 1977 he founded its companion festival, Spoleto Festival USA, in Charleston, South Carolina. Spoleto Festival USA is an annual 17-day festival of the arts which produces opera, and it presents dance, theater, classical music, and jazz. The festival is held in late May and early June.

Charleston was chosen as the location for the festival due to its wealth of theaters and other performance spaces. Each year the festival hosts over 100 performances by international artists in a variety of disciplines. Since its inception it has presented 100 international premieres and 93 American premieres, notably ``Creve Coeur'' by Tennessee Williams and ``The American Clock'' by Arthur Miller. World- renowned artists who performed at Spoleto Festival USA early in their careers include Renee Fleming, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Joanna Simon, and Yo-Yo Ma. The festival claims an audience annually of between 70,000 to 80,000 persons each year.

In 1984 Menotti was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor for Achievement in the Arts, and in 1991 he was chosen Musical America's ``Musician of the Year.'' In addition to composing operas to his own texts, on his own chosen subject matter, Menotti directed most productions of his work.

Gian Carlo Menotti died on February 1, 2007, at the age of 95 in a hospital in Monte Carlo, Monaco, where he had a home.

I want to thank my colleagues, led by Congressman Henry Brown and my fellow members of the South Carolina delegation, for honoring the life of this great Italian American artist as well as his lasting legacy, the Spoleto Festival USA.

I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the information enthusiastically provided by Mr. Pascrell, who is certainly one of the finest Members we have here, and I appreciate our long association.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown).

Mr. Speaker, I do want to conclude with thanking Mr. Brown for his leadership in bringing this to the attention of our country.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend Joe Wilson for yielding me this time and for those great remarks of Mr. Pascrell.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on H. Con. Resolution 68, which is a resolution honoring the life of Gian Carlo Menotti, who was the founder of the Spoleto Festival USA that happens every year in Charleston, South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, on February 1, 2007, Gian Carlo Menotti passed away. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and champion of the arts in the United States and in Italy.

In 1958 he founded the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, as a forum for young artists in Europe. In 1977 he decided to plan a companion American festival, and they searched for an American city that would offer the charm of Spoleto, Italy.

Mr. Menotti and the Spoleto Festival organizers decided that Charleston, South Carolina, was the perfect counterpart to Spoleto, Italy. Charleston is small enough to be dominated by nonstop arts events during the 17-day festival but also large and sophisticated enough to provide a knowledgeable audience and appropriate theaters.

Organizers also observed that Charleston, South Carolina, has an extensive history of involvement with the arts from housing America's first theater and ballet companies to housing the oldest musical organization in the country.

The Spoleto Festival quickly became a haven for a large group of artists, both traditional and experimental, who found the mix of dance, theater, opera, music, and the visual arts.

The Spoleto Festival USA has maintained traditions of the Festival of Two Worlds, such as a dedication to young artists and an enthusiasm for providing unusual performance opportunities to recognized masters in their fields and a commitment to all forums of the performing arts, including classical ballet, modern and post-modern dance, opera, chamber, symphonic, and choral music, jazz, theater, and visual arts.

Spoleto Festival USA currently claims an audience of over 75,000 attendees each year, and the festival continues its dedication to providing performance opportunities to young artists from across the United States and Italy.

Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 68 has been endorsed by the National Italian American Foundation and is cosponsored by the entire South Carolina delegation, including my friend and colleague who also represents part of Charleston, South Carolina, the majority whip, Jim Clyburn.

I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 68 in honor of the father of Spoleto Festival USA, Gian Carlo Menotti.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 68), honoring the life and accomplishments of Gian Carlo Menotti and recognizing the success of the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, which he founded.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to H. Con. Res. 68 into the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 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.

I would like to thank Representative Brown from South Carolina for bringing this important resolution to the floor.

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.

In 1984, Menotti was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor of Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. He was chosen 1991 Musician of the Year by Musical America, inaugurating worldwide tributes to the composer in honor of his 80th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey, Bill Pascrell, Jr., member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 68, which was received from the House.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to; that the preamble be agreed to; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.