Michael Chance©Annelies van der Vegt-18

Michael Chance will continue to be associated with Grange Festival as artistic director laureate

Photo: Annelies van der Vegt

Changing Faces

Grange Festival artistic director retires as opera organisation embraces ‘new direction’

Arts Professional
2 min read

MICHAEL CHANCE is to depart as artistic director of Grange Festival at the end of the opera organisation’s 2026 programme.

A counter-tenor who performed worldwide and featured in several recordings, Chance has led the Hampshire festival since its formation in 2017, serving as both artistic director and CEO.

He also directs SienAgosto, a residential summer music academy for singers and continuo players hosted by Siena Art Institute and is professor of singing at the Royal Academy of Music.

Upon his retirement, Chance will continue to be associated with Grange Festival as artistic director laureate, with plans to dedicate a 2026 production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare to him.

Announcing Chance’s departure, the board said that the festival’s 2025 season, in which it experienced a 76% year-on-year increase in ticket sales, showed “clear evidence of a new direction and a significant increase in performances and attendances”.

“Leading an arts organisation is a work of life, and Michael has demonstrated that through his dedication to the creation of what is now The Grange Festival, his legacy will be forever with us,” said chair Sir RICHARD MANTLE.

“Michael has enjoyed a glittering operatic career, as a distinguished singer and a leader, and the opportunity to share his knowledge, musicality and talent through his leadership of The Grange Festival has made a profound impact on opera in Hampshire and across the UK,” he continued.

Chance said, “The invitation in 2015 to create a new opera festival to fill a sudden vacuum came totally out of the blue. For a singer to be asked to do this is rare. The joyous privilege of being part of a committed and experienced team was clear to me from the start, and continued as we achieved so much together.

“Giving opportunities to so many working in the performing arts is both vital and humbling. I have relished opening minds and hearts to a wealth of repertoire and talent,” he said, adding, “The Grange Festival looks brightly forward.”