Just west of D.C., Lorin Maazel and his wife, German actress Dietlinde Turban Maazel, have developed a musical mecca on their estate. For the past three summers, they have presented operas and concerts in their 140-seat auditorium that had its beginning as a chicken coop. Buoyed by their success, they also have forged a relationship with George Mason University. The partnership between the Castleton Festival and GMU’s Hylton Center was started when Merchant Hall was still under construction. William F. Reeder, dean of GMU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, was once a professional operatic tenor and eager to fill the new facility with the finest artistry available. He sought out the Maazels and invited them to view the facility, which accommodates 1,100.
The Maazels were impressed by its design, typical of a traditional European opera house, and its acoustics equaling those of Carnegie Hall. It was the ideal space for three programs they wished to present to larger audiences.
| Onstage |
| Castleton Festival |
| Where: The Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas |
| When: 8 p.m. Thursday and July 21 |
| Info: $30 to $60 each or $67.50-$135 for all three at 888-945-2468 or hyltoncenter.org |
“My dream has always been to establish a collaboration with a university, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity,” Dietlinde Maazel said. “We decided it would be a series on three consecutive Thursdays.” The first show on July 7 was a concert version of Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess.”
“[On July 14] we will present two one-act operas by Giacomo Puccini, part of his Triptych. They are jewels. The first, ‘Il tabarro,’ is quite sad. A barge operator suspects that his wife is having an affair and soon learns that it is with a member of his crew. The love triangle has a tragic ending.”
The final concert of American music by Grofe, Copland, Bernstein and Stephen Foster will commemorate the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) featuring mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and tenor Richard Troxell. Joshua Weilerstein, winner of the 2009 Malko Competition for Young Conductors, will conduct Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story.”
“We’re very excited about our GMU relationship and this year’s festival in general,” Dietlinde said. “We originally built the auditorium on our estate to entertain our friends. People like James Galway, Jose Carreras, drummers from Africa and many big names in the business performed here for over ten years until my husband got the idea for a festival. Now we are Rappahannock County’s largest summer employer.
“The programs speak for themselves. Both my husband and I believe our calling is to be passionate teachers.”
