Hylton Performing Arts Center partners with the Castleton Festival

Two of Northern Virginia's newest and most popular performing arts organizations are joining forces this summer to bring the best and brightest rising stars in classical music and opera to Prince William County.

For the second year in a row, the Hylton Performing Arts Center partners with the Castleton Festival this June and July to present two Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances in Merchant Hall, the Hylton Center's 1,123-seat elegantly styled opera house. Each of these performances features world-renowned conductor and Castleton Festival founder Lorin Maazel conducting the Castleton Festival Orchestra.

“Last summer, the Castleton Festival made quite a splash at the Hylton Center, and people are still talking about it in the community,” said Rick Davis, the Hylton Center’s executive director. “I think this kind of partnership between an outstanding venue, a receptive audience and a first-class artistic force is one of the reasons the Hylton Center exists. Maestro Lorin Maazel and Dietlinde Turban-Maazel have created a jewel of true international renown in Rappahannock County, and performing at the Hylton Center is a natural extension of their dedication to the highest standards in musical excellence.”  

Founded in 2009 by Maestro Maazel and his wife, Dietlinde Turban-Maazel, the Castleton Festival is held each summer at the Maazels' bucolic farm estate in Rappahannock County, Va. In the past three seasons, the festival has received international acclaim for its enormously successful residency program that fosters young artists, advanced students and emerging professionals.

The Castleton Festival brings together more than 200 young singers, musicians, conductors, stage directors, costumers and set designers, who spend the summer living and training with experienced professional artists under the mentoring baton of Maestro Maazel. These stars of tomorrow also have the opportunity to perform for the community the most beloved works in classical music and opera in a month-long collection of performances. 

Sponsored by the Cecil & Irene Hylton Foundation, the two Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances are unique to the Hylton Center and complement the rest of the Castleton Festival performances that take place at the Castleton Farms estate this summer from June 22 to July 22. 

On Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 8 p.m., the young artists of the Castleton Festival perform “Gershwin and Company: An All-American Evening,” a musical celebration of the American spirit. Pianist and revered Gershwin interpreter Kevin Cole joins the orchestra for a riveting performance of George Gershwin’s most popular work, “Rhapsody in Blue.” The program also features Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture,” Concerto in F, “Porgy and Bess”: A Symphonic Picture and “An American in Paris.”

On Saturday, July 7, 2012 at 8 p.m., the Castleton Festival Orchestra and singers bring a Grand Opera in Concert with Puccini’s “La Bohème.” Unencumbered by sets and elaborate costuming, this spectacular concert version allows the audience to be mesmerized by the Castleton Festival Orchestra and singers performing the beloved music of this heartrending opera.

For more information or tickets to these performances, please contact HyltonCenter.org. For more information about the Castleton Festival or to learn about the performances taking places at the Castleton Farms estate, please visit CastletonFestival.org.