Classical

Houston Grand Opera managing director steps down

Perryn Leech oversaw HGO as managing director for nearly a decade.

Andrew Dansby November 20, 2020Updated: November 23, 2020, 12:54 pm

Perryn Leech, Managing Director of Houston Grand Opera talks about HGO's move to a George R. Brown Convention Hall into a grand opera house Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, in Houston. Houston Grand Opera moved to the George R. Brown Center Exhibition Hall A3, now titled the "HGO Resilience Theatre." ( Steve Gonzales / Houston Chronicle )

Photo: Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle

Perryn Leech is stepping down from his role as managing director of Houston Grand Opera, leaving a significant hole in the city’s arts scene upon his departure at year’s end.

Leech spent nearly 15 years in the Houston arts scene starting when he joined Houston Grand Opera as a technical and production director in 2006. He rose quickly at HGO, serving as chief operating officer starting in 2010 and less than a year later taking over as the company’s managing director.

In a statement, HGO board chair Allyn Risely thanked Leech “for his strong leadership, his positive determination and his sense of humor.”

Leech plans to assist Houston Grand Opera as it transitions into new leadership.

Leech’s time with Houston Grand Opera found him overseeing the organization through multiple crises. He was in charge when HGO and the Wortham Theatre Center was washed out by Hurricane Harvey. And he has overseen HGO during a difficult 2020, when the organization went dark through closures because of the pandemic.

“Houston Grand Opera is an extraordinary and special company and it has been a huge privilege to co-lead it through some amazing, and some challenging times,” Leech said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of my colleagues for their outstanding work. I wish the company a bright future and I will continue to be amongst HGO’s biggest fans.”

Leech did not return calls for comment.

A native of Brighton in England, Leech came to HGO from the Welsh National Opera, where he served five years as technical director. He’d previously spent four years as production manager at the English National Opera.

His ties to the Houston arts scene ran deep into the city’s art scene, far beyond HGO. He was chairman of the board for Theater District Houston. Mayor Sylvester Turner tapped Leech as his an appointee for his Quality of Life Transition Committee.

Through good times and bad, Leech was engaged with the opera community in Houston. He was omnipresent at HGO presentations, no matter their location, and greeted patrons regularly.

Like all arts organizations, Houston Grand Opera has had to dramatically alter its usual programming in 2020 with the pandemic. With Leech at the help, it launched HGO Digital and other programs with the intention of keeping Houston opera enthusiasts engaged during a period where the Wortham Theater Center was dark.

According to HGO, the leadership structure at the company is undergoing change. Leech and artistic and music director Patrick Summers shared leadership responsibility and reported to HGO’s board of directors.

HGO plans to launch a search committee for a general director who will oversee HGO with Summers reporting to that director.

  • Andrew Dansby
    Andrew Dansby

    Andrew Dansby covers culture and entertainment, both local and national, for the Houston Chronicle. He came to the Chronicle in 2004 from Rolling Stone, where he spent five years writing about music. He'd previously spent five years in book publishing, working with George R.R. Martin's editor on the first two books in the series that would become TV's "Game of Thrones. He misspent a year in the film industry, involved in three "major" motion pictures you've never seen. He's written for Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Texas Music, Playboy and other publications.

    Andrew dislikes monkeys, dolphins and the outdoors.