2014 Spoleto Festival to Include John Adams Opera and More

Festival General Director Nigel Redden announced today the program for the 38th annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place from May 23 - June 8, 2014. Held in Charleston, South Carolina the festival includes American premieres of the opera Facing Goya by Michael Nyman, the play My Cousin Rachel presented by Dublin's Gate Theatre company, and a new staging of John Adams' opera El Niño directed by John La Bouchardière. The Festival will also present the opera directorial debut of Garry Hynes, the first woman to win a Tony Award for directing a play on Broadway, in a production of Leoš Janá?ek's Kát'a Kabanová. Tickets are available to the general public on December 9 at spoletousa.org or by calling 843.579.3100.

Featuring artists from over 14 countries and across the United States, the Festival will also present a variety of new works including the United States premiere production of Ravi Jain's autobiographical play, A Brimful of Asha. Additional U.S. premiere productions will be performed by Finnish acrobat Ilona Jäntti and the Australian physical theater troupe Gravity & Other Myths. Composer Michael Gordon's work Rewriting Beethoven's Seventh Symphony will have its premiere performance with John Kennedy and the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, and pianist and composer Stephen Prutsman's new piano quintet will premiere during the Bank of America Chamber Music series. Making their North American debut, the Latin musical group Aca Seca Trio will perform as part of the Festival's Wells Fargo Jazz series.

Other highlights of the 2014 Festival include Joe Miller conducting El Niño in his first year as the new Director of Choral Activities for Spoleto Festival USA. Grammy Award-winning banjo player Béla Fleck will return to the Festival with his wife, Abigail Washburn, for a one-night-only performance, and singers Lucinda Williams and Charenée Wade will make their Festival debuts. The festival will also host a number of dance companies including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, New York City's Dorrance Dance and Keigwin + Company, and African dancer Gregory Maqoma. Headlining the Wells Fargo Festival Finale will be Charleston-based folk rock band Shovels & Rope.

After its success last season, the Festival will again collaborate with the Charleston Horticultural Society and The Garden Conservancy to present Behind the Garden Gate-self-guided tours through 16 of Charleston's beautiful private gardens, many of which have never been open to the public.

For donors of $100 or more, the Festival is offering its first-ever donor pre-sale beginning December 3, providing exclusive access to tickets and premium seating for the 2014 season. Information on the donor pre-sale can be found at spoletousa.org.

On-site box office operations will be at the Charleston Visitor Center at 375 Meeting Street beginning Monday, March 17.