Washington National Opera and Renamed Kennedy Center Cut Ties After 54-Year Run

The Washington National Opera has become the latest — and most prestigious — organization or group to announce it is pulling out of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since President Trump’s name was added to the center last month.But this time, both the opera and the center are suggesting the divorce was their idea.The 69-year-old company, a fixture at the Kennedy Center since it opened in 1971, announced after a vote of its board of directors on Friday that it would “seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity.”The decision follows more than a dozen other acts that have canceled performances at the center, in several cases explicitly in reaction to the renaming of the venue as the Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.But this time the center’s leaders — who had disparaged and even threatened to sue some of the earlier acts for canceling — indicated they had decided to make the break because of “ongoing financial challenges” related to the opera that have continued for more than a decade.“When financial commitments are not met year over year, we have to make tough decisions for the financial health of the Trump Kennedy Center,” said a posting on X from the center’s vice president of public relations, Roma Daravi. “Given the longstanding financial strain, it has become necessary for us to part ways to protect the best interests of the Center.”Opera leaders agreed that their organization, like most opera companies, struggles financially, but told the New York Times that the problem had been exacerbated by falling attendance and reduced donor contributions since Mr. Trump replaced the center’s board of trustees and installed himself as chairman early last year.The Washington Post quoted “a person familiar with the situation” saying the decision to leave “definitely” came from the opera company, adding that it was the addition of Mr. Trump’s name to the venue that finally prompted the opera’s 37-person board to act.The board’s resolution calls for the opera to cut back on its performance schedule going forward to reduce costs, the Times reported. It quoted opera officials saying they have identified new sites for performances in the Washington area but have not yet signed leases.In a conciliatory public statement, the opera’s board and management said they “wish the center well in its own future endeavors including recognizing the center for having secured significant funding, including $275 million from Congress, for upgrades to the center.”Other acts that have pulled out of shows at the center in recent weeks include the touring company of the Broadway musical Hamiton; jazz artist Chuck Redd who had performed there on Christmas Eve for the past two decades; the jazz group Cookers which had been scheduled for New Year’s Eve; and the dance troupe Doug Varone and the Dancers.Audiences have also been pulling back from the center, with 43 percent of tickets going unsold at its three largest venues between September 3 and October 19, 2025, according to a Washington Post analysis. That compares to just 7 percent of seats that went unsold during the same period in 2024.

Washington National Opera and Renamed Kennedy Center Cut Ties After 54-Year Run

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