Crabcakes, Cornbread, And Performing Arts: Charleston's Varied Menu

A 19th century Italian opera reset in the mob underworld; an 18th century Italian farce à la Laurel and Hardy; a Brazilian folk dance company; and a documentary theatre piece exploring local Southern history and cultural identity.

An eclectic mix of presentations, but typical of the kind of fare that Spoleto Festival USA has been presenting each year since its founding in 1977 by opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti as the American counterpart to the Spoleto Festival in Italy. Now in its 25th anniversary season, and under the general direction of Nigel Redden, Spoleto USA has become one of the most innovative arts festivals in the States, and a permanent part of Charleston, S.C.'s landscape.

Riding into downtown Charleston from the airport the other weekend, I met two women—one from Cincinnati, the other from Memphis—who told me that their coming to Spoleto has been an annual pilgrimage, a way for them to stay in touch with the arts. (Spoleto USA has presented 91 world premieres, 86 U.S. premieres, and many of these productions have had a successful life afterwards.) Their opinion is representative of the tens of thousands of others who attend and consider the fest as part of the Southeast's cultural landscape. For this year's festival, which took place May 25-June 10, over 70,000 tickets were sold for the 40 or so events and 130 performances. The program, spanning opera, theatre, chamber and symphonic music, dance, jazz, and art exhibits, offered new works, and new productions of standards, in 12 downtown Charleston venues (all within walking distance of each other), plus other venues in the surrounding Low Country. I might add, too, that it's one of the only American arts festivals hosted by an entire city.

I spent two days in Charleston and saw four productions: Puccini's "Manon Lescaut," the Royal Shakespeare Company's take on Goldoni's "A Servant to Two Masters," Balé Folclórico da Bahia; and Ping Chong's "Secret Histories." But other Spoleto offerings presented earlier in the run included Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company; Spain's Companie Nacional de Danza; the Brenda Angiel Aerial Dance Company from Argentina; monologists David Sedaris, David Rakoff, and Kevin Kling; a new production of Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas," directed by Chen Shi-Zheng; "The Screens," based on Jean Genet's play and performed by Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso; and jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter.



I have to admit that my opera-going repertoire is not that grand, but shouldn't operas, like theatre, have characters that you can feel something for, understanding their motives whatever they may be?

I'll assume that the answer is "Yes, of course," but that wasn't the case in the version of Puccini's "Manon Lescaut" at this year's Spoleto. Director/designer Petrika