Washington National Opera to move out of Kennedy Center after Trump ‘takeover’ | Washington DC
Washington National Opera (WNO) announced Friday that it will move its performances out of the John F Kennedy Center; This may be one of the most significant departures from the institution since Trump took control of the center.
“Today, Washington National Opera announced its decision to amicably terminate its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center early and continue its operations as a fully independent, nonprofit organization,” the opera said in a statement to the New York Times. he said. a separate website It looks like it was set for opera.
The Kennedy Center has been home to WNO since it first opened in 1971.
In its statement, the opera management stated that alternative venues in Washington DC have been identified, but no lease agreements have been finalized yet.
Numerous artists canceled Kennedy Center performances in response to Trump’s takeover of the institution. In March, Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller said in a speech: social media post “Our show cannot, in good conscience, be a part of and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center.” Actor and producer Issa Rae, Grammy-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens, Peter Wolf and rock band Low Cut Connie also canceled their Kennedy Center performances.
Others also reacted to Trump’s decision to appoint him head of the institution. Television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes resigned As a soprano and actress, she was appointed to the center’s board of trustees in February. Renee Fleming and singer and songwriter I am Folds He resigned as art consultant.
Francesca Zambello, WNO’s artistic director, said in November that the move was made possible as a result of the center’s “takeover” by Donald Trump. Trump declared himself president of the institution in February and immediately fired and replaced the institution’s board and leadership.
Zambello also cited the decline in box office revenues and the “shattering” of donors’ trust.
Zambello said ticket sales were about 40 percent undersold compared to the period before Trump declared himself president. Many people decided to boycott the centre. Every day, he says, he receives protest messages from former loyal members of the audience.
“They say things like: ‘I’ll never set foot in there until the ‘orange threat’ is gone.’ Or: ‘Don’t you know the history? Don’t you know what Hitler did? “I refuse to give you even a penny,” he said.
“People send me their season brochures in a torn envelope and say: ‘I will never, never, come back with him in power.’”
