LHF 2026

The 2026 Festival will see the celebrated ensemble Arcangelo return as Principal Ensemble in Residence alongside Artistic Adviser Jonathan Cohen. The Handel Opera Studio will present a brand-new production of Tamerlano, while the Gabrieli Consort and Players, led by Paul McCreesh, make their much-anticipated Festival debut. 

Returning ensembles include The English Concert, Opera Settecento, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, reaffirming their close connection with the Festival. In addition, an expanded Creative Learning & Participation programme will offer new family events, a major youth singing project, and relaxed performances designed to engage wider audiences. The 2026 Festival also marks the launch of a special pathway leading to LHF’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

The Festival opens on 18 February at Smith Square Hall with Handel’s monumental oratorio Saul, performed by Arcangelo under Jonathan Cohen as part of their LHF residency. Performances continue with violinist Rachel Podger and soprano Hilary Cronin for Handel’s Neun Deutsche Arien at St George’s, Hanover Square (21 February), followed the next day by Mr Handel and his Merry Musicians! at the Foundling Museum (22 February), a sparkling programme welcoming back Arcangelo’s New Ensemblists.

The Festival also welcomes the return of The English Concert, who appear at St George’s on 25 February in Splendour and Devotion: Music for Court and Chapel, a programme that pairs Handel’s Chandos Anthems with Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. Opera Settecento and Leo Duarte return on 5 March with the modern-day London premiere of Handel’s abandoned pasticcio Titus L’Empéreur. Meanwhile, the International Handel Singing Competition continues to showcase the finest young talent, with the Semi-Final on 7 March and the Gala Final on 11 March, presented by Petroc Trelawny with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Steven Devine.

LHF also welcomes the debut of Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort & Players, who appear at Smith Square Hall on 14 March with From Heavenly Harmony: Acis and an Ode!, pairing Handel’s pastoral masterpiece Acis and Galatea with his joyous Ode for St Cecilia’s Day.

Across three nights at Shoreditch Town Hall (26–28 March), the Handel Opera Studio presents a bold new staging of Tamerlano, its first fully staged opera. Directed by Orpha Phelan and designed by Madeleine Boyd, with Laurence Cummings conducting the Academy of Ancient Music, this landmark production unites a cast of outstanding Handelian singers to explore themes of power, loyalty and love in one of Handel’s most gripping psychological dramas.

The 2026 Festival will be staged in some of London’s most historic and atmospheric venues, each deeply connected to Handel’s legacy. The opening and closing concerts debut at Smith Square Hall, while St George’s, Hanover Square, Handel’s own parish church, hosts several major performances. The grandeur of Shoreditch Town Hall provides the setting for the Opera Studio’s Tamerlano, while more intimate experiences will be offered at Handel Hendrix House and The Charterhouse.

The Festival’s commitment to access and education is also reflected in an expanded Creative Learning & Participation programme, including relaxed performances, family-friendly events, and a major youth Singing Project with schools across Westminster. Families are invited into Handel’s own home for concerts at Handel Hendrix House (1 March), while the much-loved Lunchtime at the Charterhouse returns (24 February, 3 March, 10 March), featuring finalists of the 2025 International Handel Singing Competition and leading young ensembles including Ensemble Augelletti and Ensemble Théoroda.