The numbers are in: Spoleto Festival USA exceeded their sales goals this year, with $2.728 million in ticket sales, a 22 percent increase over last year. Their original goal was $2.667 million. In total, more than 70,000 ticket holders attended approximately 145 events this year.

Mark your calendars: Spoleto 2011 will take place May 27-June 12, and tickets go on sale in January.

The sets have been struck, the dancers have flown home, the fireworks have fizzled. Spoleto's done for another year. In the spirit of previous years' "Most Boinkable Artist" awards, here are some categories to mark 2010's hits and misses. No prizes are involved, but the performers below deserve all the bouquets and brickbats they get.

Cleverest Wordplay: Present Laughter
Noel Coward's drawing room comedy was a success when it premiered in 1942. The Gate Theatre proved its staying power with their Spoleto version, which spanned the entire festival. Its lynchpin was Stephen Brennan's performance as Garry Essendine, which was far subtler and more effective than Victor Garber's portrayal in a recent Broadway revival. But even if Brennan hadn't been so good, the dialogue would still have sparkled like fine champagne.

Runner up: Jack Tracey at the Sundown Poetry Series
On June 9, Isle of Palms poet Tracey read some self-penned work in the mobbed Dock Street Theatre Courtyard, regular venue for the Poetry Society's Sundown readings. He respectfully asked that listeners did not applaud between poems. 40 minutes flew by with a cascade of witty, often snappy verses about maturity, relationships, and living in Charleston. This was clearly a man who loved to write, and one who deserves a large following.

Best Mascot: The dog in Flora
Considering that Flora, An Opera had so many comedic elements, it's rather sad that the production's biggest laugh came when the villainous Sir Thomas Testy took his dog for a mid-show walk. The fake canine was pulled across the stage like a small child's toy, garnering a huge reaction.

Runner up: David Lee Nelson
We didn't plan it this way, but the City Paper seemed to adopted CofC alumnus Nelson as its unofficial mascot — at least judging by the number of times he was name-dropped. The comedian even appeared on the cover of our final Spoleto issue. There was something about his Facebook-checking, soul baring show Status Update that captured the zeitgeist and made us want to give the recent divorcee a big hug.

Most adaptable space: Memminger Auditorium
Whether it was used for modern dance, a one-man play, or a freaky carnival, the Memminger delivered. From day to day it was transformed into a dance space flanked with lights (I Can See You in my Pupil), a sideshow with a man-sized catflap (Oyster) or a gig pit fit for a rock band (Die Roten Punkte). Hats off to the auditorium staff who made the changes so smoothly.

Best way to pass time between big shows: Intermezzi
I know that the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra is chock full of virtuosi and can be relied upon to deliver the classical goods in any concert. But I wasn't expecting the intimate Intermezzi series to be so engaging, like a zesty blast of music to wake people from the stupor brought on by noon heat and heavy lunches. On June 4, Andriana Chuchman and Tyler Duncan from Flora performed snippets of operas like Le Nozze di Figaro, The Pearl Fishers, and The Barber of Seville, engaging the audience with their playful acting and powerful singing. June 7 featured solos and duets that made contemporary classical concerts accessible to even the dowdiest of attendees.

Best place for stalking the stars: King Street
It was a joy to see performers walking down King and window shopping as if they were nothing special. Caroline Fermin (Gallim Dance) was as cute in real life as she was on stage, and two Ballet Trockadero dancers were also spotted, out of their tutus and in everyday clothes (even if they wore daisy dukes).

Runners up: Vickery's Bar & Grill, Kudu
In Vickery's, Otto and Astrid Rot mingled with their fans after their first Roten Punkte show. In the Kudu coffee house, solo performers David Lee Nelson and Patrick Combs (Man 1, Bank 0) compared notes and beverages.

On the final Saturday night of Spoleto, a parade of vanilla, ivory, and cream glided through the iron gates of 8 Vanderhorst Street, a once dilapidated residence recently transformed into several luxurious apartments, for Spoleto SCENE’s highly anticipated annual White Party. Partygoers floated ghost-like and glistening with perspiration between the property’s many levels, balconies, and open bars, pausing to devour scrumptious one-biters from Caviar & Bananas before joining in the search for the home’s rumored wine cellar. 

“We knew this would be a great place for a party, especially the white party,” said SCENE committee member Elizabeth Gumb. “We wanted to use it last year but it wasn’t ready. This year, the timing was perfect. They literally finished it yesterday!” The night marked the culmination of a labor of love for Gumb’s husband Jack, a real estate developer involved in the project. “We started this project four years ago. It was basically a fraternity house,” he explained. “We knew it was a great property and wanted to save it, and we had an investor who was interested in making it special.” 

Out in the home’s brick-wall-enclosed backyard garden, the refreshing breeze brought together a fashionable crowd, including Cavortress designer Julie Wheat and Hampden Clothing owner Stacy Smallwood. On a large circular cushion, 360 degrees of female guests assembled to sit and rest their strappy-sandal-clad feet. Nearby, two ladies wafted air on themselves with vintage Charles Wadsworth fans (from last year’s festival) and were overheard discussing the possibility of a swimming pool at the party. “I don’t even care that I’m wearing all white. I would be in that cool water in a heartbeat.”

Just inside, an upstairs pocket of the party played with the touch-screen room controls, which illuminated track lighting (similar to that which adorns the ceiling of a limousine) along the ceiling’s classic crown molding. DJ Sonar (a.k.a. Jason Disbrow) shared that the swanky bachelor-ready lights can be adjusted to strobe mode for particularly rowdy gatherings.

Late in the night, when asked about the elusive wine cellar, an exhausted but high spirited Scott Sowell, the festival’s Special Events Manager, would only confirm its existence with a coy point in its direction, wary of the consequence of a party-wide sub-terrain migration.

After visiting some Market Street businesses last week, we headed over to King Street to out how they were faring the Spoleto crowds. While Market Street businesses didn't seem to be as affected, we found a completely different vibe on King Street.

Jodie Battles, the general manager at Fish, says, “We’ve been really lucky to see consistent business.” Being located next to the American Theater, Fish gets a lot of traffic from Spoleto attendees before and after shows. Battles explains that business has been comparable to last year’s flow during Spoleto, but two years ago was definitely better.

Anna Hogue, an employee at Virginia’s on King Street, explains that they have remained steady and consistent with last year’s business. Hogue says, “It’s busier than it would be without Spoleto going on,” but Virginia’s stays consistently busy from open to close. 

Nearby shops have also felt positive effects. Angela Hall, owner of Aster Hall, says, “Spoleto has been beneficial. It’s brought in business without a doubt,” Hall says.

Seeking Indigo, on the other hand, has not seen a heavy flow of Spoleto tourists. Employee Misty Dahl explains that over the weeks of Spoleto, business has been sporadic. “One week it’s busy, then another week it’s dead.” Misty describes the streets as being a “ghost town” lately, with days where no one comes in for several hours. 

As for businesses on George Street, they receive a lot of customers on the weekends thanks to their proximity to the Cistern and the Simons Center. Fresh Berry Yogurt has seen a big improvement in business during Spoleto. “It’s been better this year, people know who we are now,” says employee Melanie Cummings.
 

Spoleto organizers made a bold move by booking the Carolina Chocolate Drops for the Finale, rather than the traditional Spoleto Festival Orchestra. While we’re not sure of the motives for the change-up (boredom? finances?), we do think it’s a good idea. The string band will inject some much-needed youthful energy into the finale. They have a huge fan base in the Lowcountry, which should draw a bigger, younger crowd — quite a different crowd, in fact, than many Spoleto events. And this is a good thing, as it broadens the festival’s appeal to a wider audience. As lovely as it is to hear the SFO play under the stars in past years, we’d inevitably feel like nodding off before the fireworks began. We’re pretty sure the Drops won’t let that happen this year.

Rising international piano star Inon Barnatan, who is appearing at Spoleto for the first time this year, sat down with me for a laid-back interview at the Dock Street Theatre after Friday afternoon’s chamber program. In the course of our warm and wide-ranging conversation, he spoke of his background, current activities, and impressions of Charleston.

LK: Your work here with cellist Alisa Weilerstein has been particularly impressive. You two are a musical match made in heaven, and I understand you’ve been performing with her for some time now. I imagine she had a good deal to do with your coming to Spoleto.
IB: Yes and no. I’ve been performing with Alisa for several years now with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society. Not only are we very happy to be musical collaborators, but we've become very close friends, too. She’s often spoken of Spoleto, and has told me how much I’d enjoy working here. But it wasn’t until I played last year with Geoff (Nuttall) and Livia (Sohn) that the invitation came, and I jumped at it.

LK: Your new Charleston fans are glad you did. Please tell us where you’re from, and something about your early musical background and influences.
IB: I’m a native of Tel Aviv, Israel. When I was three and a half, I began correcting my mom’s piano playing, rather obnoxiously, she tells me. But even though I knew nothing of music then, I was usually right, and so my parents had me tested, and it turned out I had perfect pitch. And so began the piano lessons. I had some wonderful early teachers, but things got serious when I switched at age 14 to Victor Derevianko at the national music academy. Derevianko himself had studied with the great Russian master Heinrich Neuhaus.

LK: So you’re the “musical grandson” of Neuhaus, who produced piano masters like Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels?
IB: I guess you could say that, in which case I’m also the musical grandson of the great Arthur Schnabel, who taught my next teacher, Maria Curcio. I left Tel Aviv to study with her in London when I was 18. Another of my major teachers was Leon Fleisher.

LK: I’ve read that you’ve done some remarkable things with the music of Franz Schubert, including a recording and another project. Please tell me about them. BTW, is Schubert your favorite composer?
IB: Well, Schubert is definitely one of my favorites, but at any given time, my fave is usually the composer I happen to be working on or playing. Like right now, it’s Rachmaninoff (big grin), after just playing his cello sonata with Alisa. My Schubert recording includes the second group of four impromptus (D. 935) and the B-flat Sonata. I also curated “Schubert Ascending” at Lincoln Center: a recent three-concert project where I joined a bunch of marvelous artists to explore the miraculous music of Schubert’s final year. We did works like the great C Major String Quintet, some late piano sonatas and his Swan Song Lieder cycle.

LK: Do you see yourself as mainly a solo artist, or as a chamber player? And what concertos do you favor?
IB: To be a good chamber player, you’ve got to be a good soloist, and vice versa. I suppose I’m a bit more of a soloist these days, but still, I couldn’t live without chamber music. Concertos? Well, I’m doing a lot of Mozart these days, lately with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields orchestra in England. I’ve also been performing the Beethoven numbers 2, 3 and 5, and I’ve done Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations in New Orleans.

LK: What’s it like for you working in Charleston? Are you coping with all the heat and humidity? And do you plan on returning to future Spoletos?
IB: I’m having a wonderful time here, making good music with some of the finest artists I know. I’m enjoying the schedule, too: morning and afternoon rehearsals, with concerts in between, and that leaves the evenings free to enjoy the rest of the festival and get to know your beautiful city. The heat? Nah, I’m from Israel; I can handle it. And yes, I’d love to come back, if they invite me.

I sat down over coffee Thursday afternoon with departing Spoleto Music Director for Opera and Orchestra Emmanuel Villaume for an informal final interview. We discussed in further detail his reasons for leaving the festival, and what his very busy future looks like.

LK: You got quite a sendoff at your final concert last Sunday. What were your thoughts and feelings on that occasion?
EV: I was very touched and honored — even overwhelmed — at the audience’s huge ovation. Making audiences happy is what we musicians are here for, and it was good to know that we succeeded. It was a good thing we had prepared a second encore, even though I wasn’t sure we’d need it. The thrill of a successful performance feels like nothing else on earth, but I must say that the full impact of my decision to leave the festival didn’t hit me until the very last stage call, when, all of a sudden, I felt the emotion boiling up inside me. It was a very special, unforgettable moment. It’s good to know that my Spoleto audiences appreciate my work here.

LK: You told me several years back that you considered Spoleto to be the most important of your professional obligations. Did anything happen to change that?
EV: No, I meant what I said when I told you that, and I have continued to take my Spoleto obligations very seriously ever since. But exciting new opportunities kept presenting themselves, opportunities that I knew — if I was to make the best of them — would demand a great deal of hard work. So, after I accepted my two current orchestral positions and the guest-conducting invitations kept coming, it quickly became apparent that I would no longer be able to give the festival the time and effort it deserves. So I soon realized that it was time to move on. Besides, 10 years in any major musical directorship these days is a very long time. Still, I’m very sad — even heartbroken — to be leaving. But the festival, and especially the orchestra, is in great shape. But I’ve been on the job here longer than anybody else … and it’s better to leave a little too soon than a little too late.

LK: Please tell me about your two European orchestras, both of which, if I’m not mistaken, suffered greatly during the long years of Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, as well as during the economic hard times that came after the iron curtain fell.
EV: Yes, both of them have been through hard times, but they are bouncing back. Many of their best players left for American or Western European orchestras, but are now returning home as things improve. They are both national institutions, and sources of great pride to their countrymen. They are rediscovering their national identities and cultural heritages, so it’s an exciting time to get involved with both of them, even though it’s like working two full-time jobs. The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra in Ljubljana, which I serve as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor, is a very fine orchestra that recently celebrated its hundredth anniversary; it’s known for its unique blend of Italian style and Slavic soul. The Slovak Philharmonic in Bratislava, where I am Chief Conductor, is also an excellent orchestra with a distinguished history. I look forward to helping both of them achieve their full potential.

LK: Tell me about some of your upcoming guest appearances. Will you be concentrating on orchestral or operatic work?
EV: Like most conductors, I don’t want to be typecast as either an orchestral or operatic specialist, so I always try to achieve a good balance between the two. But, with two orchestras to work with, most of my upcoming guest appearances will be in opera. There’s a new production of Massenet’s Werther with the San Francisco Opera this fall. I’ll be working with the Chicago Lyric opera in productions of Puccini’s La Boheme (with star soprano Anna Netrebko) and Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman. Then there’s Covent Garden’s (England) production of Gounod’s Faust. And from here I’m going straight to Canada for an orchestral concert with the Quebec Symphony.

LK: Have you discussed or given any thought to what kinds of productions you might return to Spoleto for as a guest conductor?
EV: No, it’s too soon for that. But I love Charleston and the Spoleto Festival very dearly; I will miss my work here terribly, and so I’d love to return occasionally as I am able, and if I am invited.

Inside a beautiful house on State Street, a table of VIP foodstuffs stood alone in the back room. A little sign read “Performers Food Table,” and a hovel of dancers from Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company crowded around shoveling food into their mouths, looking burnt out. The “Everybody Else Food Table” had a hot food buffet with enchiladas, bean salad, quesadillas, and dips. Mexican-style mantas served as tablecloths, while dainty floral Chinese lanterns hung from the trees by the bar — interesting choices for a party celebrating an Israeli dance troupe.

Jalapeño peppers floated in a large glass pitcher with a spout atop the small bar at the end of the driveway-turned-courtyard. “Jalapeño-infused margarita,” the bartender explained, “very nice.” The results of my taste test told me plain old margarita, a bit mellowed.

Among a very casual gathering of Spoleto lovers, the buzz was consistently positive. I watched a woman approach Oyster dancer Nir Tamir excitedly. “You were in the show? That was just magnificent! We loved it!” When I asked what particularly had struck her fancy, “Oh, just everything!” “The movements looked so difficult!” another guest exclaimed. “Yes,” Tamir admitted. “It is very challenging.” He’s been dancing with the company for 10 years and actually helped to create Oyster, which the company has performed over 400 times. “It changes all the time,” the Tel Aviv native explained.

Tamir looked exhausted, as did company co-founder Avshalom Pollak, who looked like he was going to fall asleep standing upright, though he tried sincerely to converse politely with anyone that approached. His wife, Inbal, was back home in Israel with their two small children. As gracious as they were, we couldn’t help but wonder if it was the best idea to force this troupe of jetlagged dancers to a quiet South of Broad party at 10 p.m. on a Thursday night.

It’s the final weekend of Spoleto, and most of us are breathing a bittersweet sigh of relief. There are still plenty of shows to see if you’ve been procrastinating, but the biggest events are the two finales — the Piccolo Finale downtown all day Saturday, and the Spoleto USA Finale at Middleton Place on Sunday afternoon/evening. Figure out which one is right for you. Or just go to both.

Price. The Piccolo finale wins this category, because it’s free. The action kick off at 9 a.m. at Harmon Park with free recreational activities, then at noon, things move over to Brittlebank Park for Irish fiddling, a Hellenic dance troupe, music, and more. At 8 p.m., mosey on over to the Joe for more music and fireworks. The Spoleto finale will set you back $30 per person, $15 for kids.
Family. If you’ve got kids, the Piccolo finale is an obvious choice because of the sheer variety of activities, not to mention the price. The Spoleto finale is a good time as well, just be sure to bring some toys and games to occupy the little ones.
Picturesqueness. Nothing beats eating on the lawn of Middleton Place, then taking a stroll around the landscaped grounds and butterfly lakes before taking in a concert under the stars. That’s about as pretty and Southern as it gets. But Brittlebank Park, which is right on the Ashley River on Lockwood Drive, comes in at a close second.
Music. Piccolo’s got the variety, with everything ranging from reggae to bluegrass to African drumming. And Spoleto’s switching things up this year — rather than their traditional orchestra concert, they’re hosting the Carolina Chocolate Drops.more music and fireworks.
Food. At Middleton, you’ll have to bring your own food — but that’s part of the fun of it. Every year, attendees bring elaborate picnic spreads in the hopes of winning the prestigious Golden Fork Award. At the Piccolo finale, you can buy yummy fried food from all over the world.
Drink. Alcohol isn’t much of a focus at the Piccolo finale. At the Spoleto finale, however, people have been known to pop a few champagne corks.

When it comes down to it, there’s a reason these finales are on different days: So you can go to both of them. Put on your lightest clothes, pack some bug spray, and get ready to sweat, Spoleto style.

A preview of the strange and beautiful dance performance Oyster.

• Joshua Curry

This footage is from Julian Lage's soundcheck on Friday afternoon. The bassist is Jorge Roeder.

This is a short clip of the Giselle rehearsal from this afternoon. The voice you hear is Nina Ananiashvili giving last minute directions over the PA.

Thursday’s Intermezzo IV program delivered a fitting finale to this ever-dependable series, offering appealing and well-played selections by three very different composers. Doing the honors was a chamber-sized ensemble drawn from the ranks of the brilliant Spoleto Festival Orchestra, under the assured and expressive hands (no baton) of Bulgarian conductor Sergei Pavlov.

For starters, Pavlov eased his small band gently into the sultry, summery strains of Pastorale d’ été, a rarely-heard orchestral miniature by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger. Most music lovers know him from his main hit, Pacific 231, a near-violent orchestral evocation of a steam locomotive. But this lovely music couldn’t possibly be more different. Its apparent inspiration was an epigraph by Rimbaud: “I have Embraced the Summer Dawn.” The music is full of seasonal symbolism, like intimations of birdsong floating over flowing strings, evoking the mood and feel of a long and dreamy summer day. It forms a perfect arch, rising from soft and dreamy beginnings to an ecstatic climax, before falling back down into absolute serenity. Judging from the moment of silence before the applause began, it left the rest of the audience as entranced as I was.

Our musicians next treated us to a wonderful performance of American icon Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, originally commissioned and performed by America’s “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman, who was also a pretty good classical performer. Our soloist was clarinetist supreme Michael Byerly, who’s been returning to play with the SFO for five years now. In fact, I know him: he used to hang out in my classical room at the old Millennium Music store between rehearsals and gigs, yakking about festival goings-on and advising me as to the best clarinet recordings.