The Washington National Opera announced on Friday that it is ending its decadeslong partnership with the Trump-Kennedy Center, which has become the subject of sweeping controversy following President Donald Trump’s takeover of the institution.
Unlike a stream of other leading artists and groups that have cut ties with the country’s leading cultural center in recent months, the opera did not cite Trump as a reason for leaving the institution this week. Instead, the organization said its decision stemmed from the center’s new business model, which “requires productions to be fully funded in advance, a requirement incompatible with opera operations.”
“To ensure fiscal prudence and fulfill its obligations for a balanced budget, the WNO will reduce its spring season and relocate performances to new venues,” the opera said in a statement. “This is a decision centered on doing what is best for the WNO going forward after an amicable transition.”
Francesca Zambello, the opera’s artistic director, told the Guardian in November 2025 that leaving the center was a possibility as a result of Trump’s “takeover,” citing low ticket sales and explaining that she receives daily messages of protest from formerly loyal members of the audience.
“They 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,’” Zambello said. “People send me back their season brochure shredded in an envelope and say: ‘Never, never, will I return while he’s in power.’”
There were disagreements among the opera’s board over whether or not to depart, with some board members resigning, according to Fox 5 DC.
The opera had called the Kennedy Center, recently renamed in honor of Trump, home since opening in 1971. But the opera company said this week that the “affiliation was never intended to be permanent.”
A Trump-Kennedy Center spokesperson referenced a “financially challenging relationship” with opera as the reason for the company’s departure.
“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 spokesperson said.
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The development marks the opera organization as the latest high-profile artistic presence to leave the revered cultural arts institution after Trump ousted the previous leadership early last year and arranged for himself to head the board of trustees. The board is now made entirely of Trump appointees. The president’s name was added to the center’s title last month, sparking a fresh wave of cancellations.
Among those who have boycotted were the Cookers, who pulled out of two shows scheduled for New Year’s Eve, and Chuck Redd, who abruptly canceled the Kennedy Center’s annual Christmas Eve “Jazz Jams” he had overseen since 2006.
