Die Washington National Opera trennt sich nach langjähriger Partnerschaft vom Kennedy Center

The Washington National Opera on Friday announced it is parting ways with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade with the arts institution.

“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.

The decoupling marks another high-profile withdrawal since President Donald Trump and his newly installed board of trustees instituted [broad thematic and cosmetic changes](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F12%2F18%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-kennedy-center-name&data=05%7C02%7Crashard.rose%40cnn.com%7C4ed07fbd137842d8b95c08de5000cc27%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C639036161518885656%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=8VdcheEfuqIZPmOn4p1Ul1n4KSoe4tOHTCCWT3GzYHY%3D&reserved=0) to the building, including renaming the facility “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

The performing arts center has been hit with a string of [abrupt cancellations](https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F12%2F30%2Fpolitics%2Fkennedy-center-cancelations-trump-name&data=05%7C02%7Crashard.rose%40cnn.com%7C4ed07fbd137842d8b95c08de5000cc27%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C639036161518977228%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=hUVu18fXN4lcd8WuClKOlDFqCZ2KLy6eMHS3rJhqDUY%3D&reserved=0) from artists in recent weeks including the jazz group The Cookers and New York City-based dance company Doug Varone and Dancers who canceled their performances after Trump’s name was added to the center – a living memorial for assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

The American College Theater Festival voted to suspend its relationship with the Kennedy Center, calling the affiliation “no longer viable” and citing concerns over a misalignment of the group’s values.

American banjo player Béla Fleck withdrew his upcoming performance with the National Symphony Orchestra, saying that performing at the center has become “charged and political.”

The Brentano String Quartet, who canceled their February 1 performance at the Kennedy Center, said they will “regretfully forego performing there.”