Introduction to the Castleton Residency
Baritone Matthew Worth and mezzo-soprano Tamara Mu...
Scene from Act 2 of Britten's The Turn of the...
Musicians from Youth Orchestra of the Americas in ...
The Castleton Residency for Young Artists
The Castleton Residency is a twice annual program designed to connect multiple generations of artists—students, emerging professionals and established masters—in a unique setting in Rappahannock County, Virginia. The centerpiece of each program is a chamber opera production under the artistic leadership of Maestro Lorin Maazel, the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic and the preeminent American conductor of his generation. Up to 50 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 and its private Theatre House, an intimate but state-of-the-art performance space.
A pilot program was launched in 2006, with an acclaimed production of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. The first full-scale Castleton Residency took place in March/April 2007, with a production of another Britten masterpiece, The Rape of Lucretia. The program is completing its Britten chamber-opera cycle in 2008 with a spring production of The Beggar’s Opera and a fall production of Albert Herring. The last three productions have been undertaken by a highly gifted team led by William Kerley, Resident Stage Director, in collaboration with set and costume designer Nicholas Vaughan and lighting designer Rie Ono. These works will be revived during the inaugural Castleton Festival in July 2009.
Participating young artists are chosen through auditions (for vocal soloists) or evaluation by staff and mentors in the applicable field. The ideal candidates are young professionals or advanced (graduate-level) students, though exceptional undergraduates will be considered. Partner institutions—The Juilliard School; the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Keio University (Tokyo), the Royal College of Music (London)—have played a role in selecting orchestral musicians for the Castleton Residencies, at the invitation of Maestro Maazel. Depending on the requirements of the production, positions for vocalists number 12-20 and for instrumentalists, 10-18. In addition, 2-3 apprentice positions are available in the following fields: stage direction, conducting, set design, costume design, lighting design, company management and stage management. A larger group of young artists and apprentices, and a more intensive program of mentoring will be incorporated into the Castleton Festival.
The Residency is framed around a professional-level opera production, with a full complement of staging and musical rehearsals, all held at Castleton Farms. Transportation, housing and all meals are provided to all participants. Vocal soloists receive a modest stipend. The program encourages extra-rehearsal interaction among all participants and the creation of both formal and informal mentoring opportunities.
The performances in Castleton that cap the Residency serve several constituencies, including local students and mentoring programs whose participants are being given a first exposure to opera, as well as supporters of the Foundation and members of the community.