Washington National Opera will leave the Kennedy Center after performing there since 1971

The Washington National Opera said on Friday that it will move its performances out of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where it has performed since 1971, and seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement to resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity, the company said in a statement to The New York Times.

The board of trustees approved a resolution calling for the opera to vacate the Kennedy Center’s 2,364‑seat Opera House “as soon as possible,” reduce the number of performances as a cost‑saving measure and seek new performance sites. Opera officials said new venues in Washington have been lined up but that no leases have been signed; they declined to name those locations.

The opera also said it will move all performances out of the center regardless of whether a deal to end formal ties is struck. The company said the decision followed a drop in attendance and donor contributions during President Trump’s second term and an increasing number of artists who have refused to appear at the Kennedy Center since the president’s name was added to the building.

Opera leaders also cited concerns about programming control and selection of top personnel under the affiliation agreement, which was negotiated in 2011. The agreement and control of the company’s roughly $30 million endowment have become points of dispute, the Times reported.

Key Topics

Culture, Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center, Affiliation Agreement, Endowment, Richard Grenell