The Washington National Opera is the latest institution to cut its ties with the Kennedy Center in the wake of President Trump's takeover. In a statement sent to the New York Times January 9, the opera's board announced it would no longer be in residence at the Washington, DC institution.
“Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity,” the statement said. "The board and management of the company 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."
The WNO has performed out of the Kennedy Center's Opera House since 1977. The company also told the Times that it would seek other performance venues in D.C., though did not specify where. The opera's leadership attributed the split to a decrease in ticket sales and supporter donations ever since Trump took over the Kennedy Center in February. In a previous interview with the Guardian, the WNO's artistic director, Francesca Zambello, said that 40 percent of tickets to the opera's performances remained unsold.
Zambello also revealed that the company's previous supporters “say things like: ‘I’m never setting foot in there until the “orange menace” is gone.’ Or: ‘Don’t you know history? Don’t you know what Hitler did? I refuse to give you a penny.’ ... People send me back their season brochure shredded in an envelope and say: ‘Never, never, will I return: while he’s in power.’"
Indeed, Tony winner Stephen Schwartz, who had been set to host WNO's annual gala, recently backed out of the engagement due to the Kennedy Center's board voting to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center (a move that is legally dubious).
In a statement to the Times, Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi said: “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with the WNO due to a financially challenging relationship. We believe this represents the best path forward for both organizations and enables us to make responsible choices that support the financial stability and long-term future of the Trump Kennedy Center.”
The multi-venue Kennedy Center has been in turmoil since President Trump transformed the formerly bipartisan institution into being under his sole control, installing himself as chairman and replacing the board with hand-picked supporters. In the wake of the politicization of the venue, numerous events and artists have canceled scheduled performances, notably including the national tour of Best Musical winner Hamilton and the American College Theatre Festival. This has led to a decline in audience support; the recent Trump-hosted Kennedy Center Honors broadcast made history with the smallest viewership over the telecast's 48 annual offerings so far.
The official website has already changed its header to read "The Trump Kennedy Center," though the URL remains Kennedy-Center.org; satirist Toby Morton currently owns the domain TrumpKennedyCenter.org and reportedly refuses to sell it to the Trump Administration. The legality of the Kennedy Center name change remains disputed, and will require Congressional approval to become official.
