Spoleto Festival

Spoleto Festival, also called Festival of the Two Worlds, annual summer arts festival held in Spoleto, Italy. Founded by the composer Gian-Carlo Menotti and the conductor Thomas Schippers, the festival has been held annually since 1958. It features the works of composers, singers and musicians, as well as writers, actors, painters, and sculptors from all over the world. In 1999, Francis Menotti, the founder's son, became its artistic director. The Spoleto Festival U.S.A., an American version of the festival also instituted by Menotti, has been held in Charleston, S.C., since 1977. Although Menotti broke with the American festival in 1993, it continues to be an active musical institution under its director, the French conductor Emmanuel Villaume, who assumed his post in 2000.