A man walks by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, after White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced that the Kennedy Center board decided to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The Washington National Opera is pulling the plug on its 55-year relationship with the Kennedy Center, marking another shocking rejection of President Donald Trump's makeover of the iconic venue.
The opera company's board voted Friday to terminate its affiliation and relocate performances from the Kennedy Center's 2,300-seat Opera House. The move comes after a chaotic year marked by artist cancellations, plummeting ticket sales, and donor revolt.
The New York Times reported the move Friday afternoon, calling it, possibly the "largest artistic rebuke yet to President Trump’s campaign to remake the Kennedy Center in his image."
“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 opera said in a statement to The Times.
The fallout stems from Trump's aggressive takeover of the institution. Within weeks of his second term launch, the president installed himself as chairman and tapped political operative Richard Grenell as executive director. Grenell swiftly imposed controversial changes: a mandatory national anthem before a concert, revenue-neutral production requirements, and censorship concerns over politically themed operas.
Opera artistic director Francesca Zambello stated she was "deeply saddened to leave the Kennedy Center," but warned in November that Trump administration policies had "shattered" donor confidence and triggered a 40 percent drop in ticket revenues.
“If we cannot raise enough money, or sell enough tickets in there, we have to consider other options,” she said at the time.
The opera, established in 1957, has hosted legendary performers including Plácido Domingo and Renée Fleming. New Washington venues have been secured, though no leases are finalized. A major dispute looms over the opera's $30 million endowment.