Italian Extravaganza is Sunday at Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas

The Castleton Festival Orchestra and singers present “An Italian Extravaganza” at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas on Sunday at 7 p.m., according to a press release issued by the Hylton center.

The Hylton renewed 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.

On Sunday, soloist and Castleton alums, including tenor Jonathan Burton and baritone Corey Crider, join the orchestra for a program featuring highlights from the one of the most beloved Italian operas. 

Prior to the performance, the Hylton center partners with chef Louis Patierno, of Panino Ristorante in Manassas and Girasole Ristorante in The Plains, to present a special dinner featuring a seasonal menu of award-winning Italian cuisine with Italian wine pairings.

Then on July 18 at  8 p.m., the Castleton Festival brings a concert in its “Mostly Mahler” series to the Hylton Center. The performance showcases 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  will be the soloist.

Both 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.

The Castleton Festival is held every summer at the Maazels’ bucolic farm estate in Rappahannock County and has received international acclaim for its  successful residency program that fosters young artists, advanced students and emerging professionals. The Castleton Festival celebrates its fifth anniversary season this summer.