Washington National Opera leaves Kennedy Center amid artist departures

The Washington National Opera said it will end its residency at the John F. Kennedy Center, citing a new policy that requires productions to be fully funded in advance; the Kennedy Center says it chose to end the exclusive partnership. Undetermined at this time.

The Washington National Opera announced it will leave the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where it has been based since 1971. The opera company said the center's new business model, which requires productions to be fully funded in advance, strains its financial planning and does not fit its mixed funding approach. The Kennedy Center responded that it decided to end the exclusive partnership to support financial stability and programming flexibility. The opera launched a separate website shortly after the announcement. Recent developments: - The Washington National Opera described the decision as amicable and said the funding requirement conflicted with its mix of ticket revenue, grants and donations. - The Kennedy Center said it had made the decision to end the exclusive relationship to allow more flexibility in programming and finances. - The departure follows a series of artist cancellations and withdrawals after recent changes in the center's leadership; the center's proposed renaming remains legally disputed and Congress has not authorized it. Summary: The Washington National Opera's exit ends a more than five-decade residency and adds to a wave of artist departures tied to recent changes at the Kennedy Center. Officials on both sides described the split as a difficult but deliberate decision. Undetermined at this time.