Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival Partners with the HPAC for Summer Performances

Northern Virginia residents will have the opportunity to experience two world-class artists and the next generation of classical music and opera stars right in their own backyard when the Castleton Festival joins forces with the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas to present three Thursday evening performances on July 7, 14 and 21.

The performances will all be conducted by world-renowned conductor and Castleton Festival founder and artistic director Lorin Maazel. 

The former music director of the New York Philharmonic, and a conductor with more than 73 years of experience on the concert podium, Maazel and his wife, Dietlinde Turban Maazel created the Castleton Festival as part of the Châteauville Foundation, which, according to its website, was founded in 1997 "to nurture young artists, foster collaborative artistic enterprise and create opportunities within the community for shared cultural experience."

The Castleton Festival, which the Maazels launched in 2009 on their bucolic farm estate in Rappahannock County, Va., has quickly become the foundation’s main attraction and has brought performances by both emerging and established musicians and vocalists to audiences in Virginia. Due to its enormous success, the festival, which runs this summer from June 25 to July 24, expands this year with appearances at the Hylton Center in Manassas; as well as the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Md., and the inaugural BlackCreek Summer Music Festival at the Rexell Centre in Toronto, Canada.

“The Hylton Center is honored to partner with the Castleton Festival, bringing the highest level of classical music to one of the finest venues on the East Coast,” said Jean Kellogg, the Hylton Center’s executive director. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to present some of today's stars and the stars of tomorrow in our beautiful new performing arts center.”

The performances at the Hylton Center, which are exclusive to the venue, begin on Thursday, July 7 at 8 p.m., with a concert version of Gershwin's beloved opera, "Porgy and Bess." This 1935 masterpiece has been hailed by countless critics as the greatest American opera and combines opera, jazz and Broadway music with a deeply heartfelt love story.

Set in Charleston, S.C., the struggling occupants of Catfish Row live a life of hard work and tough times, and constantly yearn for a better life and great love. In this concert version, the Castleton Festival artists perform some of the most memorable music of all time from this cherished opera, including “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “Bess, You is my Woman Now,” “I Loves You, Porgy,” “A Woman is a Sometime Thing,”  “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” and “Summertime.” Patrick Blackwell and Reyna Carguill perform the roles of lovers Porgy and Bess, while John Fulton sings Crown and Chauncey Packer portrays Sportin’ Life.

The festival continues on Thursday, July 14 at 8 p.m. with “Il Tabarro” and “Gianni Schicchi,” the first and third parts of Giacomo Puccini’s “Il Trittico” (The Triptych), a series of three one-act operas featuring contrasting themes. “Il Tabarro” (The Cloak) is set in Paris on a barge moored on the Seine. The quiet, brooding Michele suspects that his wife, Giorgetta is having an affair and is preparing to leave him, and his suspicions are quickly confirmed. He learns that his rival for his wife’s affections is none other than Luigi, a member of his crew, and his discovery results in tragedy for this doomed love triangle.

One of the funniest operas ever written, “Gianni Schicchi” is based on a chapter from Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” Set in Florence at the end of the 13^th century, this dark comic opera begins with the death of Buoso Donati, a wealthy man whose family has gathered by his side to mourn his death – but more importantly, to search frantically for his will. Upon finding it, his relatives discover that he left most of his money and possessions to the local monks.

Hilarity ensues when the greedy family hires the clever and cunning Gianni Schicchi to help them find a solution to their woes, and he outwits them. Baritone Corey Crider sings the title role, and soprano Joyce El-Khoury sings the role of Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi’s beloved daughter, who sings one of the most memorable arias in the operatic canon, “O mio babbino caro” (Oh My Dear Papa). 

The Castleton Festival at the Hylton culminates on Thursday, July 21 at 8 p.m. with a concert of American music commemorating the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) featuring acclaimed opera luminary and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, a Washington, D.C. native renowned for her stunning interpretations of 'Carmen and Delilah.'

This Sesquicentennial Concert features an evening of great American music, including Ferde Grofé’s “On the Trail” (from the “Grand Canyon Suite”), Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances” from “West Side Story.” The latter will be conducted by Joshua Weilerstein, the 2009 winner of the prestigious Malko Competition for Young Conductors, making his Castleton Festival debut. The evening will also feature Graves performing songs by Stephen Foster with the Castleton Festival Orchestra in accompaniment. 

The Castleton Festival at the Hylton organizers are confident that this partnership will be mutually beneficial and will help engage new and larger audiences. 

“It is both rare and thrilling for two arts organizations in their early years to be able to collaborate in this way,” said Tom Reynolds, the Hylton Center’s director of artistic programming, marketing and audience services.

“The Castleton Festival – with its brilliant founder and artistic director Lorin Maazel – creating extraordinary musical performances in the Hylton Center’s beautiful and elegant Merchant Hall should not be missed, and most exciting of all are the possibilities that this partnership portends for the future.” 

Tickets for each performance are $30, $45, $60, and are available by calling 888-945-2468, or by visiting hyltoncenter.org or the Hylton Center box office, open Wednesday-Saturday, 12 p.m. through 6 p.m. Buy all three festival concerts for $67.50, $101.25, $135 and save 25% (This special offer for all three concerts is only available in person at the Hylton Center ticket office or by phone at 888-945-2468). 

The Hylton Performing Arts Center is located at 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, Va. For more information about these Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances, please visit hyltoncenter.org or castletonfestival.org.