Francis Menotti

Francis "Chip" Menotti (born Francis Phelan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in 1938) is an actor and former figure skater who was the president and artistic director of Festival dei Due Mondi.

Early years and personal life Born in Philadelphia to sports journalist Francis J. Phelan, Francis Menotti grew up in Ardmore, Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Saint Thomas More High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania. An avid ice skater since the age of 9, he became a professional skater after high school in the late 1950s with the Ice Follies, with whom he toured for two years .

On August 24, 1985, at Yester Parish Church, in Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland, Francis Menotti married Malinda Fitler Murphy (1960–2005), the youngest daughter of Dr. James S. Murphy and his former wife, Happy, the widow of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller.

The Menottis had two sons, Claudio (born 1987) and Cosimo (born 1991). Malinda Menotti died on 24 October 2005.

Festival dei Due Mondi

Francis Menotti is perhaps best known for his past involvement with the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, which his father, Gian Carlo Menotti, founded in 1958. He was named president of the Festival in 1994, In his will, Gian Carlo Menotti bequeathed the Festival to his son. However, after the death of Gian Carlo in February 2007, Francis was ousted from the organization and the culture minister of the Italian government appointed politician Giorgio Ferrara to run the festival. The Festival's attendance has consistently declined since the Menotti family was ousted under Giorgio Ferrara and Monique Veaute, with the festival stating in 2022 that 25,000 tickets were sold