Mr. Maazel, 79, however, has an idea of retreat that is different from most peoples: awaiting him at his 550-acre Virginia estate, Castleton Farms, were some 200 young singers, instrumentalists, conductors and theatrical designers, assembled for the first Castleton Festival.
The festival, which opened on July 3, grew out of Mr. Maazels Chteauville Foundation, which he started in 1997 with his wife, the German actress Dietlinde Turban-Maazel. Originally meant to nurture arts and education, the foundation has refined its mission, turning its impressive resources toward housing young musicians and theater artists in twice-annual residencies, during which they hone their skills under the guidance of seasoned mentors.
Borrowing a cinematic clich, the Castleton Festival is Mr. Maazels personal field of dreams: he built it, incrementally, and they came. In 1997 the Maazels opened the Theater House, an elegant, rustic 130-seat auditorium with an ample stage and an orchestra pit that holds 20 players. In addition to performances by the likes of Mstislav Rostropovich, Jos Carreras and James Galway, each year since 2006 the theater has housed a new production of a chamber opera by Britten, featuring promising young singers.
For the inaugural festival, “The Turn of the Screw", the first Britten opera presented here, returned in a new production. Also included in the festival are revivals of three earlier Britten productions, two symphonic concerts and two master classes sponsored by Rolex, in which Mr. Maazel is working with 10 aspiring conductors. Organizers of the festival, intended as an annual event, have announced plans in 2010 for two new chamber opera productions and a revival of one of this years presentations. (Which one was not specified.)
To help accommodate the expanded offerings the Maazels opened a second performance space: a 250-seat tent erected on a sprawling meadow, equipped with air conditioning, platforms that still smelled like fresh-cut lumber and portable toilets that could fairly be described as lavish. And the audience indeed came, even though getting to Castleton Farms about 60 miles southwest of Washington requires a long, scenic drive through rolling hills, along narrow roads that wind between broad pastures and quaint churches.
Besides the programs part of the festivals attraction is the glimpse it provides of Mr. Maazels isolated rural sanctum. The splendidly landscaped grounds are home to an extensive menagerie that includes emus, a camel, a zebra and its hybrid offspring, a zonkey. A majestic beech tree towers over the stately Manor House, the Maazels residence.
