Spoleto Festival Announces 2007 Season

For 17 days and nights each spring, Spoleto Festival USA fills Charleston, South Carolina's historic theaters, churches and outdoor spaces with over 125 performances by renowned artists as well as emerging performers in disciplines ranging from opera, theater, music theater, dance, and chamber, symphonic, choral, and jazz music, as well as the visual arts.

One festival highlight this year is the first American production of Book of Longing, a 12-part music cycle by composer Philip Glass based on Leonard Cohen's poetry collection of the same name. 

Other highlights include the American premieres of two French operas, Gluck's comic Baroque opera Merlin's Island or the World Upside Down as well as contemporary composer Pascal Dusapin's Faustus, the Last Night.

The festival marks the American debut of ballerina Nina Ananiashvili's renowned State Ballet of Georgia performing Swan Lake.

The Gate Theatre of Dublin, which has appeared previously at the festival, will return to present a Somerset Maugham comedy, The Constant Wife.

The festival jazz program features, among others, American jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.

Spoleto Festival USA has firmly established itself as one of the world's major arts festivals, presenting 100 world premieres and 93 American premieres since its inception in 1977. Past premieres and commissions include the highly acclaimed Peter and Wendy by Lee Breuer, Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams, The American Clock by Arthur Miller, The Mechanical Organ by the Nikolais Dance Theatre, and the world premiere of a Spoleto commissioned work Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijov.

Tickets for this year's festival, ranging from $10- $130, are available now. Visist www.spoletousa.org for more information.