Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. He is best known for his operas, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Consul. Menotti wrote over two dozen operas in a variety of styles, from the melodramatic Amahl and the Night Visitors to the comic The Old Maid and the Thief. He also wrote ballets, orchestral works, and choral pieces. Menotti was a prolific composer, and his works are still performed around the world.