Gian Carlo Menotti

The son of an amateur musician, Menotti had already composed two operas at the time of his admission to the Milan Conservatory at age 13. There he developed a close friendship with fellow student Samuel Barber, with whom he spent two summers in Europe attending operas. He received his diploma with honors from the Curtis Institute in Vienna in 1933 and began work on Amelia al Ballo, which was soon accepted by the Metropolitan Opera in New York for the 1936 season, where it was performed in English as Amelia Goes to the Ball. Living in the USA throughout WWII, he continued to ho...