By Harriet McLeod
CHARLESTON, South Carolina | Fri May 27, 2011 5:30pm EDT
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Spoleto Festival USA, an annual burst of opera, chamber music, jazz, theater and dance, opened in historic Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, even though state funding was axed for the second year.
The $7.6 million budget for the 17-day festival dips into the organization's reserves, said General Director Nigel Redden, who also directs the summer Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.
"I think this year will be a struggle," Redden said. "The budget is a big increase over last year even in spite of cutbacks. God knows the state of South Carolina is not in great shape financially, and I certainly understand."
After getting as much as $560,000 from the state in 1999, the festival received no financial help this year or last year, said festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards.
Those cuts have come despite the fact that the Spoleto Festival brings between $55 million and $70 million to South Carolina each year, Redden said.
The festival draws 25,000 to 35,000 people to the coastal city, and they buy 73,000 performance tickets and spend money on hotels, food, merchandise and tourist attractions, he said.
Last year, the festival drew visitors from 48 states and a dozen foreign countries, said Spoleto board chairwoman Martha Rivers Ingram.
"What has happened to many festivals is that they've turned to more popular offerings," he said. "We decided proactively that we were going to have a very full festival this year to see if box office would make up for some of the shortfall."
Spoleto Festival USA was founded 35 years ago by the late Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti as a twin to an arts festival in Spoleto, Italy. The two festivals shared some programing during their early years.
Opera is always included in Charleston, but this is the first year since 2007 that the festival will stage three operas -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Menotti's "The Medium," and the American premiere of "Emilie" by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.
Spoleto also is presenting Chinese, Cambodian and Spanish dance companies; an Australian circus; jazz musicians from Brazil, Argentina, Norway and New Orleans; Cornwall's Kneehigh Theater; and Ireland's Druid Theater, along with performance art, chamber music and symphony.
Local officials and festival-goers gathered on Friday for the opening ceremonies outside the historic City Hall. Many in the crowd of about 200 wore straw and fancy hats.
Cannons fired confetti and two dancers from Spain's Corella Ballet, which opens Friday, performed a pas de deux.
Mount Pleasant resident Tony Martin, who regularly attends Spoleto events, said the recession wouldn't prevent him from doing the same this year.
"You've got to buy something," he said. "You might as well buy tickets."
(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)
By Harriet McLeod
CHARLESTON, South Carolina | Fri May 27, 2011 5:30pm EDT
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Spoleto Festival USA, an annual burst of opera, chamber music, jazz, theater and dance, opened in historic Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, even though state funding was axed for the second year.
The $7.6 million budget for the 17-day festival dips into the organization's reserves, said General Director Nigel Redden, who also directs the summer Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.
"I think this year will be a struggle," Redden said. "The budget is a big increase over last year even in spite of cutbacks. God knows the state of South Carolina is not in great shape financially, and I certainly understand."
After getting as much as $560,000 from the state in 1999, the festival received no financial help this year or last year, said festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards.
Those cuts have come despite the fact that the Spoleto Festival brings between $55 million and $70 million to South Carolina each year, Redden said.
The festival draws 25,000 to 35,000 people to the coastal city, and they buy 73,000 performance tickets and spend money on hotels, food, merchandise and tourist attractions, he said.
Last year, the festival drew visitors from 48 states and a dozen foreign countries, said Spoleto board chairwoman Martha Rivers Ingram.
"What has happened to many festivals is that they've turned to more popular offerings," he said. "We decided proactively that we were going to have a very full festival this year to see if box office would make up for some of the shortfall."
Spoleto Festival USA was founded 35 years ago by the late Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti as a twin to an arts festival in Spoleto, Italy. The two festivals shared some programing during their early years.
Opera is always included in Charleston, but this is the first year since 2007 that the festival will stage three operas -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Menotti's "The Medium," and the American premiere of "Emilie" by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.
Spoleto also is presenting Chinese, Cambodian and Spanish dance companies; an Australian circus; jazz musicians from Brazil, Argentina, Norway and New Orleans; Cornwall's Kneehigh Theater; and Ireland's Druid Theater, along with performance art, chamber music and symphony.
Local officials and festival-goers gathered on Friday for the opening ceremonies outside the historic City Hall. Many in the crowd of about 200 wore straw and fancy hats.
Cannons fired confetti and two dancers from Spain's Corella Ballet, which opens Friday, performed a pas de deux.
Mount Pleasant resident Tony Martin, who regularly attends Spoleto events, said the recession wouldn't prevent him from doing the same this year.
"You've got to buy something," he said. "You might as well buy tickets."
(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)
By Harriet McLeod
CHARLESTON, South Carolina | Fri May 27, 2011 5:30pm EDT
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Spoleto Festival USA, an annual burst of opera, chamber music, jazz, theater and dance, opened in historic Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, even though state funding was axed for the second year.
The $7.6 million budget for the 17-day festival dips into the organization's reserves, said General Director Nigel Redden, who also directs the summer Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.
"I think this year will be a struggle," Redden said. "The budget is a big increase over last year even in spite of cutbacks. God knows the state of South Carolina is not in great shape financially, and I certainly understand."
After getting as much as $560,000 from the state in 1999, the festival received no financial help this year or last year, said festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards.
Those cuts have come despite the fact that the Spoleto Festival brings between $55 million and $70 million to South Carolina each year, Redden said.
The festival draws 25,000 to 35,000 people to the coastal city, and they buy 73,000 performance tickets and spend money on hotels, food, merchandise and tourist attractions, he said.
Last year, the festival drew visitors from 48 states and a dozen foreign countries, said Spoleto board chairwoman Martha Rivers Ingram.
"What has happened to many festivals is that they've turned to more popular offerings," he said. "We decided proactively that we were going to have a very full festival this year to see if box office would make up for some of the shortfall."
Spoleto Festival USA was founded 35 years ago by the late Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti as a twin to an arts festival in Spoleto, Italy. The two festivals shared some programing during their early years.
Opera is always included in Charleston, but this is the first year since 2007 that the festival will stage three operas -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Menotti's "The Medium," and the American premiere of "Emilie" by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.
Spoleto also is presenting Chinese, Cambodian and Spanish dance companies; an Australian circus; jazz musicians from Brazil, Argentina, Norway and New Orleans; Cornwall's Kneehigh Theater; and Ireland's Druid Theater, along with performance art, chamber music and symphony.
Local officials and festival-goers gathered on Friday for the opening ceremonies outside the historic City Hall. Many in the crowd of about 200 wore straw and fancy hats.
Cannons fired confetti and two dancers from Spain's Corella Ballet, which opens Friday, performed a pas de deux.
Mount Pleasant resident Tony Martin, who regularly attends Spoleto events, said the recession wouldn't prevent him from doing the same this year.
"You've got to buy something," he said. "You might as well buy tickets."
(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Greg McCune)
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