Celebrated Maestro Lorin Maazel returns to the Hylton Center this summer to conduct two Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances in Merchant Hall
MANASSAS, Va.– The Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas announced that it is pleased to renew its partnership with the Castleton Festival to present two Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances in the Hylton Center’s Merchant Hall this summer for the third consecutive year. These performances feature world-renowned conductor and Castleton Festival founder Lorin Maazel conducting the Castleton Festival Orchestra, featuring 80 returning artists and newcomers, as well as a collection of talented young vocalists and opera luminaries. Assistant conductors Antonio Méndez and Rafael Payare will also conduct several works during each evening. These two Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances are unique to the Hylton Center and complement the 2013 Castleton Festival events that take place at the Castleton Farms estate this summer from July 3 – 28, 2013. The Cecil & Irene Hylton Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of the Castleton Festival at the Hylton.
“Lorin Maazel’s appearances at the Hylton Center are always a highlight of the artistic year,” said the Hylton Center’s Executive Director Rick Davis. “The Castleton Festival Orchestra plays with that ‘Maazel touch’ of energy, enthusiasm and expressive precision, and the soloists are world-class. We are proud to continue this partnership with one of America’s elite musical organizations, which happens to have sprung from the fertile soil of Rappahannock County.”
On Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 7 p.m., the Castleton Festival Orchestra and singers present “An Italian Extravaganza” at the Hylton Center. In this breathtaking performance, distinguished soloists and Castleton alums, including tenor Jonathan Burton and baritone Corey Crider, join the orchestra for a program featuring glorious highlights from the world’s most beloved Italian operas.
On Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 8 p.m., the Castleton Festival brings a concert in its “Mostly Mahler” series to the Hylton Center. This elegant performance, showcasing works by Gustav Mahler and other celebrated composers, features a program that includes Mahler’s lyrical Symphony No. 4 and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 (“The Reformation”). Lyric soprano Jennifer Black – who the Denver Post praised as “a strong all-round singer with a big, lustrous sound and stage presence to match” – will be the soloist for this enchanting evening of music.
The Castleton Festival, which is held every summer at the Maazels’ bucolic farm estate in Rappahannock County, Va., has received international acclaim for its enormously successful residency program that fosters young artists, advanced students and emerging professionals. The Castleton Festival celebrates its fifth anniversary season this summer.
For more than five decades, Lorin Maazel has been one of the world’s most esteemed and sought-after conductors. Formerly the music director of the New York Philharmonic, he is currently the music director of the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofia” in Valencia, Spain, and recently became the music director of the Munich Philharmonic at the start of the 2012-2013 season. He also guest conducts with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Maestro Maazel and his wife, actress Dietlinde Turban Maazel, established the Chateauville Foundation in 1997 and the Castleton Festival in 2009.
For more information about the Castleton Festival at the Hylton, please visit http://www.hyltoncenter.org/castleton/. For more information about the Castleton Festival, please visit http://castletonfestival.org/.
Tickets for each CASTLETON FESTIVAL AT THE HYLTON performance are $30, $45 and $60. Buy tickets to both concerts for $48, $72 and $96 and save 20%. Special discount packages are also available for subscribers to the Hylton Center’s Hylton Presents season. Visit the box office (open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or charge by phone at 888-945-2468 or visit HyltonCenter.org. The Hylton Performing Arts Center is located on George Mason University’s Prince William Campus at 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, Va., 20110. Free parking is available in the lot next to the Hylton Center. For more information, please visit HyltonCenter.org. Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/HyltonCenter and follow us on Twitter at @Hylton_PAC.
About the Hylton Performing Arts Center
Dedicated to bringing a world-class performing arts venue to the Prince William region, the Hylton Performing Arts Center was born out of a partnership among Prince William County, George Mason University, the City of Manassas, the Commonwealth of Virginia and individuals and businesses in the private sector. Soaring more than nine stories and boasting a stunning mix of copper, glass and masonry, the 85,000-square foot center is home to two unparalleled performance venues for local arts groups and performers from around the world, as well as university-related activities. Modeled after the intimate European opera houses of the 19th century, Merchant Hall is a 1,123-seat multipurpose proscenium theater, which is encircled by 27 private boxes that rise three levels. The Gregory Family Theater is a flexible, 4,400-square foot space that can be configured for many different types of performances and events. In addition, the Didlake Grand Foyer, with its sweeping staircase, provides an ideal setting for community, corporate and social events. The Hylton Performing Arts Center, the only building of its kind in the area, is sure to quickly become the cultural hub of Prince William County and the surrounding communities and is a shining example of collaboration and commitment to the arts.
About George Mason University
George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., Mason provides students access to diverse cultural experiences and the most sought-after internships and employers in the country. Mason offers strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, organizational psychology, health care and visual and performing arts. With Mason professors conducting groundbreaking research in areas such as climate change, public policy and the biosciences, George Mason University is a leading example of the modern, public university. George Mason University – Where Innovation Is Tradition.
