The Grange Festival appoints Richard Mantle as interim chair

UK opera festival The Grange Festival has announced the appointment of Sir Richard Mantle to the role of interim chair. Mantle, who is set to step down from his current position as general director of Opera North in December, succeeds Tim Parker, who joined the board in March 2017 and has held the role of chair for two years.

The news follows Parker’s decision, made at the end of the festival’s 2023 season, to step down from the role of chair. As interim chair, while the festival searches for Parker’s long-term successor, Mantle will work closely with fellow trustee Caroline Greenhalgh who has been appointed as the festival’s interim vice chair.

Mantle said: ‘On behalf of the Board I thank Tim for all he has done for the Grange Festival over the last six years, and most recently as chairman for two years. I am delighted to have recently joined a dynamic, committed and enthusiastic Board at The Grange Festival and privileged to take on the role of interim chair; I am looking forward to working with the trustees, together with the talented leadership team, as we look to the future.’

Mantle joined Opera North in 1994, after previous roles with Edmonton Opera, Scottish Opera, and English National Opera. He was awarded an OBE for services to music in 2013 as well as honorary doctorates from the Universities of Leeds and of York.

Formally established as The Grange Festival in 2017, the festival builds on opera performances held since 1998 at The Grange opera house in Hampshire.