As it enters its 70th season, the Washington National Opera announced Friday that it will end its more than 50-year affiliation with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a split that underscores deeper tensions over the direction of one of America’s premier cultural institutions.
Officials from both parties said the decision to seek an “amicable early termination” of their affiliation stems from a changing financial and institutional environment that they say has made the longtime partnership unsustainable. Under the center’s new business model, productions must be fully funded in advance — a requirement that opera companies argue is incompatible with how they typically operate, with much of their budget supported by future grants and donor commitments.
The relationship with the WNO has presented ongoing financial challenges for well over a decade—through political appointee Board members from both sides of the aisle—the financial problems long predate the current leadership. When financial commitments are not met year over…
— Roma Daravi (@romadaravi) January 9, 2026
This departure comes against the broader backdrop of the Kennedy Center’s own tumult: after President Donald Trump named himself chairman of the board and ushered in a new leadership team, the institution has been renamed on its façade and digital presence as The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. That rebranding is a move opposed by members of the Kennedy family, arts leaders and lawmakers and accompanied by a cascade of cancellations from major artists and companies who viewed participation as tacit endorsement of the shift.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
The opera’s artistic director, Francesca Zambello, expressed sadness at the departure but reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its artistic mission as an independent nonprofit. The opera plans to relocate performances to new venues in the Washington area and scale its spring season to ensure fiscal balance.
The split is more than an arts story. It highlights the growing entanglement of culture and politics — where institutional identity, leadership changes and ideological battles now shape not just programming but whether iconic institutions can sustain their legacies at all.
Read more
about the Kennedy Center