Barbara Hendricks

Growing up African American in segregated Arkansas in the 1950s, Barbara Hendricks witnessed firsthand the painful struggle for civil rights. After graduation from the Juilliard School of Music, Hendricks immediately won a number of important international prizes, and began performing in recitals and operas throughout the world. A Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, she is as devoted to humanitarian work as she...

When Gian Carlo Menotti created the Spoleto festival in 1958, he imagined it existing in two worlds, Europe and America. After years of debate as to where the beloved festival should take place in the United States, the city of Charleston was chosen. Charleston, much like Spoleto is a place rooted in history. It was Charleston’s grand cultural allure that secured it as the rightful spot for Spoleto USA. Home to many churches, houses and theaters...