This year's lineup included a new production of Gounod's Rom_o et Juliette with Nicole Cabell (winner of the 2005 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition) in the title role; choreographer Bill T. Jones's full-length work Blind Date and a performance of Mozart's Mass in C minor featuring soprano Jennifer Larmore.

The festival also revived its much-talked about 2005 production of Don Giovanni, staged by G‹nter Kr‹mer with onstage pools and KFC chicken. It was again a box-office success.

The 2007 Spoleto Festival USA is scheduled to run May 25 through June 10; the program will be announced in January.