Second Castleton Festival, July 2-25, 2010 – Four Orchestral Concerts to be Performed & More
Second Castleton Festival, July 2-25, 2010 – Four Orchestral Concerts to be Performed & More
New Production of Puccini’s Il Trittico and Staged Performances of Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat and De Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show All Led by Lorin Maazel to be Featured in the Second Castleton Festival, July 2-25
Festival to include revivals of Britten chamber operas The Turn of the Screw and The Beggar’s Opera
Four orchestral concerts to be performed by the Castleton Festival Orchestra
Recitals, master classes, art exhibitions and a concert of American music led by the Maazel Master Class participants included in the festival held at Castleton Farms, Rappahannock County, VA
February 16, 2010 — Artistic Directors Lorin Maazel and Dietlinde Turban-Maazel today announced that the second Castleton Festival will include a new production of Puccini’s Il Trittico that Maestro Maazel will conduct, his first performances of staged Puccini in the U.S. The festival will take place over four weekends at the Maazels’ Castleton Farms property in Rappahannock County, Virginia from Friday July 2 through Sunday July 25.
The Castleton Festival grew out of the Castleton residency program for young artists run by The Châteauville Foundation, founded by Lorin Maazel and his wife Dietlinde Turban-Maazel in 1997. The Castleton Festival brings around 200 young artists including singers, conductors, instrumentalists, directors, costume designers and lighting designers to live on the property for six weeks to work with professional mentors and prepare the performances of the operas and concerts.
In addition to four performances of all three one-act operas in Il Trittico (Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi), Maestro Maazel will also conduct the operas separately or in pairs during the festival (full schedule below). He will also lead staged performances of Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat and De Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show as well as a revival of the Britten/John Gay chamber opera The Beggar’s Opera. Timothy Myers, who was a Castleton Conducting Fellow during the 2009 festival, will return to lead three performances of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.
All three opera productions and the staged Stravinsky and De Falla performances have been created especially for the Castleton stages by Castleton’s resident director, William Kerley, with sets and costumes designed by Nicholas Vaughan and lighting by Rie Ono. The Beggar’s Opera is a revival of the 2008 Castleton Residency production and The Turn of the Screw is a revival of last year’s festival production. The De Falla work, which is rarely presented as a fully staged piece, will feature puppets created and operated by Emily DeCola and Eric Wright from the New York-based Puppet Kitchen.
Four concerts featuring the Castleton Festival Orchestra, comprised of young professional musicians and advanced music conservatory students, will be held during the Festival. Three concerts will be conducted by Maestro Maazel: an all-Italian program on Saturday, July 3; an all-French program on Saturday, July 10; and an all-Beethoven Festival finale concert on Sunday, July 25. An all-American program will be presented on Friday, July 16 led by the young conductors selected for the Maazel Master Classes that are supported by Rolex as founding partner. Maestro Maazel will conduct Gershwin’s An American in Paris at this concert.
Performances are held in the intimate 140-seat custom-built Theatre House which has an orchestra pit that holds 20 musicians, and a 400-seat Festival Tent that will be specially erected on the property. This year’s tent is almost double the capacity of last year’s.
The 2010 Castleton Festival will open on Friday, July 2 with a Gala performance of Il Trittico.
“Last year’s inaugural Castleton Festival was the thrilling realization of a dream and far exceeded our expectations,” said Maestro Maazel. “Dietlinde and I look forward to welcoming this year’s Castleton Fellows to Virginia and we are delighted that a larger Festival tent means we can share the talents of these enthusiastic and talented young artists with more music lovers this year.”
In addition to the music and opera performances, Ms. Turban-Maazel has incorporated a range of community oriented activities into the Castleton Festival, including an open house, film screenings, art exhibitions and opportunities to showcase local produce.
“Our inspiration comes not only from the wonderful work of our young artists, but the warm and enthusiastic engagement of the entire community, that so quickly adopted the Festival as its own. The response from volunteers and patrons last year only affirmed our desire to build upon the success of the first festival,” said Ms. Turban-Maazel.
2010 CASTLETON FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
www.castletonfestival.org
Weekend One
______________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 2
Festival Opening
7PM* Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini – Production Premiere
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
*This performance will include a Gala dinner
______________________________________________________________________
Saturday. July 3
2PM The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten
Revival of the 2009 Castleton Festival production
Venue: Theatre House
Conductor: Timothy Myers
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
7PM Castleton Festival Orchestra – Italian Program
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Program to include opera overtures, preludes and intermezzos by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini and Respighi’s The Pines of Rome and The Fountains of Rome
______________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 4
2PM Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
Weekend Two
______________________________________________________________________
Thursday, July 8
7:30PM The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten
Venue: Theatre House
Conductor: Timothy Myers
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
_____________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 9
7:30PM Il Tabarro & Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Saturday, July 10
2PM Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
7PM Castleton Festival Orchestra – French Program
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Program to include works of Berlioz, Debussy and Ravel.
______________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 11
2PM Il Tabarro & Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
7PM The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten
Venue: Theatre House
Conductor: Timothy Myers
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
Weekend Three
______________________________________________________________________
Thursday, July 15
7:30PM The Beggar’s Opera by Benjamin Britten/John Gay
Revival of the 2008 Castleton Residency production
Venue: Theatre House
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 16
7:30PM Maazel Master Class Concert – American Program
Presented by Rolex as founding partner
Venue: Festival Tent
Maestro Maazel is joined by master class participants to lead the Castleton Festival Orchestra.
Program to include works of Barber, Bernstein, Copland and Lorin Maazel leading Gershwin’s An American in Paris.
______________________________________________________________________
Saturday, July 17
7PM The Beggar’s Opera by Benjamin Britten/John Gay
Venue: Theatre House
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 18
2PM Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
Weekend Four
______________________________________________________________________
Thursday, July 22
7:30PM Suor Angelica & Gianni Scicchi by Giacomo Puccini
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Friday, July 23
7:30PM Stravinsky’s L’histoire du Soldat
Manuel de Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show
Venue: Theatre House
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Puppets: Emily DeCola and Eric Wright of the Puppet Kitchen
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
______________________________________________________________________
Saturday, July 24
7PM Il Trittico by Giacomo Puccini
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
_____________________________________________________________________
Sunday, July 25
2PM Stravinsky’s L’histoire du Soldat
Manuel de Falla’s Master Pedro’s Puppet Show
Venue: Theatre House
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Director: William Kerley
Puppets: Emily DeCola and Eric Wright of the Puppet Kitchen
Designer: Nicholas Vaughan
Lighting: Rie Ono
7PM Castleton Festival Orchestra – Festival Finale
Venue: Festival Tent
Conductor: Lorin Maazel
Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Little Washington Recitals
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The Theatre at Washington at 291 Gay Street, Washington, VA
Monday July 5, 7PM
Monday, July 12, 7PM
Monday, July 19, 7PM
Artists and repertoire to be announced
Tickets to all Castleton Festival events available from March 20 from castletonfestival.org or by phone 540-937-4969/1-866-974-0767.
Individual Tickets from $20-85
Festival Pass – $475 for all 4 concerts plus an opera performance
Weekend Passes – $172 for 2 operas and a concert
Opening Night Gala & Dinner $250
About Castleton Farms
Castleton Farms is located at 663 Castleton View Road, Castleton, VA 22716, about 60 miles southwest of Washington, DC (approx 80 minutes drive); approx two hours drive from Richmond and Baltimore; and approx five hours drive from New York City. Full driving directions and accommodation recommendations are available at castletonfestival.org
A Castleton Festival Shuttle will operate on the property during the festival to transport guests between the Festival Tent and carpark area to the Theatre House. Meals and refreshments will be available for purchase on the property during the festival.
About The Châteauville Foundation
The Châteauville Foundation was established at Castleton Farms in 1997 by Lorin and Dietlinde Maazel. The Foundation’s mission is to nurture young artists, foster collaborative artistic enterprise and create opportunities within the community for shared cultural experience. An intimate, acoustically superb and highly versatile Theatre House on the Maazels’ 550-acre property is the focal point of the Foundation’s activities, which include a performance season of a dozen or more events, a multi-week summer festival that was inaugurated in 2009, and ongoing education and outreach activities for the community in Rappahannock County, Virginia, and beyond.
The Theatre House’s multi-purpose facilities make it ideally suited to a wide range of performances—recital and chamber music programs, jazz, world music, dance and theatre, in addition to the Residency program’s centerpiece chamber operas. The unique setting and intimacy of the space allow an unparalleled degree of communication between artists and audiences. To date, over 100 different performances have been offered at the Theatre House. The Foundation takes pride in presenting many of today’s most eminent artists (Emanuel Ax, Claire Bloom, Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, Itzhak Perlman, Pepe Romero, Gil Shaham, Randy Weston) alongside rewarding family programs (The Cashore Marionettes, Avner “The Eccentric” Eisenberg, Tomáš Kubínek) and new/young artists and ensembles, including the Amstel Saxophone Quartet, the Rincones Dance Company, percussionist Colin Currie, eighth blackbird, cellist Han-Na Chang, the Avalon and Attacca String Quartets, and many others. The presentations are truly international in scope from local songwriter/composer Paul Reisler to Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, to Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa.
The concept of The Castleton Residency & Festival emerged from tremendous creative energies unleashed by the Foundation’s first fully-staged chamber opera production in May 2006, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. The Castleton Residency is now a twice annual four- to five-week program designed to connect master artists with those who will carry the performing arts forward into the next generation. It is centered on a new, fully staged chamber opera production under the artistic leadership of Maestro Lorin Maazel. Up to 200 young artists (singers, instrumentalists, conductors, designers, stage directors, coaches and stage managers) are invited to live and work together intensively in the inspiring atmosphere of Castleton Farms. The artists rehearse and perform according to the highest professional standards, while receiving practical experience/training and career guidance from mentors and visiting faculty. The Festival includes additional recitals and workshops as well as a more formal program of coaching, master classes and workshops.
For more information, please visit http://www.chateauville.org.
Lorin Maazel (President and Artistic Director)
For over five decades, Lorin Maazel has been one of the world’s most esteemed and sought-after conductors. Maestro Maazel recently completed his seventh and final season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. He continues, now in his fourth season, as the first Music Director of the spectacular, Santiago Calatrava-designed opera house in Valencia, Spain, the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofia” and as the founder and Artistic Director of the Castleton Festival.
Maestro Maazel is also a highly regarded composer, with a wide-ranging catalogue of works written primarily over the last dozen years. His first opera, 1984, based on George Orwell’s literary masterpiece, had its world premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in May 2005, and was broadcast on radio and television by the BBC and on many other national radio networks worldwide. A revival of 1984 took place at the Teatro alla Scala (Milan) in May 2008, and a Decca DVD of the original London production was released that same month. Maestro Maazel’s compositional catalogue also includes a trilogy of concertos (for cello, flute and violin), a symphonic movement (“Farewells,” Op. 14), premiered in 2000 by the Vienna Philharmonic, which commissioned the work; and several contributions to repertoire of narrated texts with orchestra, including two children’s stories, “The Giving Tree” and “The Empty Pot.”
A second-generation American born in Paris, Lorin Maazel began violin lessons at age five, and conducting lessons at age seven. He studied with Vladimir Bakaleinikoff, and appeared publicly for the first time at age eight, conducting a university orchestra. Between ages nine and fifteen, he conducted most of the major American orchestras, including the NBC Symphony at the invitation of Toscanini. At 17, he entered the University of Pittsburgh to study languages, mathematics and philosophy. In 1951 he went to Italy on a Fulbright Fellowship to further his studies, and two years later made his European conducting debut, stepping in for an ailing conductor at the Massimo Bellini Theatre in Catania, Italy. He quickly established himself as a major artist, appearing at Bayreuth in 1960 (the first American to do so), with the Boston Symphony in 1961, and at the Salzburg Festival in 1963.
In the years since, Maestro Maazel has conducted more than 150 orchestras in no fewer than 5,000 opera and concert performances. He has made over 300 recordings, including symphonic cycles/complete orchestral works of Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Mahler, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Richard Strauss, winning 10 Grands Prix du Disques.
Maestro Maazel has been music director of the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio (1993 until summer 2002), music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony (1988–96); general manager and chief conductor of the Vienna State Opera (1982–84) — the first American to hold that position; music director of The Cleveland Orchestra (1972–82); and artistic director and chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1965–71). He was named Honorary Member of the Israel Philharmonic in 1985 when he conducted its 40th Anniversary concert. He is also an Honorary Member of the Vienna Philharmonic, and is the recipient of the Hans von Bülow Silver Medal from the Berlin Philharmonic. His close association with the Vienna Philharmonic includes 11 internationally televised New Year’s Concerts from Vienna (often with Maestro Maazel making an added contribution to the festivities as violinist).
Alongside his prodigious performing activity, Maestro Maazel has found time to work with and nurture young artists, based on his strong belief in the value of sharing his experience with the next generation(s) of musicians. He founded a major competition for young conductors in 2000, culminating in a final round held at Carnegie Hall two years later, and has since been an active mentor to many of the finalists (and instrumental in launching their international careers). Through his Châteauville Foundation, in Castleton, Virginia, he has created a new Festival and residency program for young artists, centered around fully staged productions of chamber operas, bringing together aspiring singers, instrumentalists, conductors, designers, directors, and stage management personnel to work in an intensive, collaborative environment, with guidance from senior artists/mentors, Maestro Maazel included.
He has an equally strong commitment to environmental and humanitarian causes. He has raised millions of dollars on over 50 occasions for the benefit of such entities as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Wide Fund for Nature, the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
An avid reader, classic film buff, and theatergoer, he also enjoys playing tennis, swimming and collecting American paintings and Oriental art.
Dietlinde Turban-Maazel (Vice-President and co-Artistic Director)
Dietlinde Turban’s first stage appearance at the age of 19 as Gretchen in Goethe’s Faust in the Residenz-Theatre in Munich brought her national fame. In rapid succession she starred in new productions of Lessing’s Minna von Barnhelm (as Minna), Shakespeare’s Othello (as Desdemona), for which she received the Bad Hersfeld Festival’s prize for best actress, and in works of Anouilh, Giraudoux and others. She was invited as guest star at the State Theater in Bonn and the Josefstadt Theatre in Vienna.
Thanks to scores of films and plays filmed for television, Ms. Turban won Germany’s coveted Bambi Award by popular vote as Best Actress of the Year (1983).
Among her credits: the title role in Goethe’s Stella and Schiller’s Love and Intrigue (Luise), the role of Mozart’s sister-in-law Aloysia in the French film biography of the composer, a starring role in the American thriller Bloodline, and the part of Euridice in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s adaptation of Monteverdi’s Orfeo. Her film credits include Die Kalte Heimat, Die Undankbare, Peter Schamoni’s The Castle in Königswald and the World War II story Mussolini and I, in which she played opposite Anthony Hopkins.
In 2004 Ms. Turban founded the New York based Crescent Theatre Company. She premiered Christopher Rothwell’s One Woman Play Constantly Risking Absurdity in Castleton and at the Cherry Lane Theatre, New York, performed it at the George Mason University and was also invited with this play to Salzburg, Austria, by the American Austrian Foundation. Recently the Crescent Theatre Co. merged with Kid Pan Alley (see www.kidpanalley.org).
Ms. Turban has recorded a number of audio books as well as CDs in collaboration with young composers. She also performs dramatic readings of literary masterpieces both in the United States and in Europe and regularly tours with recitals based on works by Andersen, Fontane, Heine, Kafka, Rilke, Schiller and Thomas Mann.
Ms. Turban studied violin, classical dance and voice in her home town Munich, Germany and in Aspen, Co. After a decade of an intense acting career she married the conductor Lorin Maazel and devoted much of her time to raising their three home-schooled children while traveling throughout the world. In 1996 she co-founded a private “charter” school on her Virginia estate, based on the holistic ideas of Rudolf Steiner, “The Hearthstone School”, and developed a pilot educational project designed to explore new ways of integrating vital artistic and aesthetic values into school curricula.
Ms. Turban coaches young opera singers in performance skills, song interpretation, German and French, and holds Acting Master Classes and Workshops in various summer programs.
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