The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: April twenty-seventh, previewing this year at Spoleto.

Four weeks from today in Charleston, South Carolina, the curtain rises on the 25th annual Spoleto Festival. For 17 days, more than 120 presentations of classical music, jazz, dance, opera and theater will be performed by an impressive array of international artists.

The opening event is Puccini's opera "Manon Lescaut," directed and designed by Petrika Ionesco. The festival's other operatic attraction is "Dido and Aeneas." In its first Spoleto appearance, the Royal Shakespeare Company will present "A Servant to Two Masters." Other theatric offerings include "Blood Links" by Australian William Yang and "Secret Histories" directed by Ping Chong. Balletic selections are the Joffrey of Chicago, Compania Nacional de Danza from Spain and from Brazil, the Bale Folclorico da Bahia. Also returning to Spoleto are the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Argentinean choreographer Brenda Angiel's troupe of airborne dancers. Along with a slate of symphonic presentations, musical selections will honor composer Phillip Glass. The jazz series features performances by Wayne Shorter, Jim Hall, Charles Lloyd and Virginia Rodrigues. A troupe of dancers and drummers from Guinea, West Africa will offer four dynamic performances, under master drummer Francois Kokelaere. The "Footprints in the Garden" series hosts by three crack satirists, Kevin Kling, David Sedaris and David Rakoff.

On June 10th, the grand finale will be the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, with an all Spanish repertoire under the stars followed by fireworks over the Ashley River. It promises to be quite a show.

FMI For more information, call the Spoleto Festival box office 843-579-23100 or visit www.spoletousa.org

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