Washington National Opera Is Leaving the Kennedy Center

Washington National Opera is the latest group to flee the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The New York Times reports the opera’s board of trustees approved a resolution to move all future performances. The Washington National Opera has been putting on shows at the Kennedy Center since the venue’s inception. This resolution breaks fives decades of work together.

In a statement to the Times, the company says it wants to move performances as soon as possible, and will scale back on productions next season as a cost-saving measure in the meantime. No specific alternative venues were named. Other artists and groups that have pulled out of the Trump-Kennedy Center include Stephen Schwartz, Issa Rae, and jazz musician Chuck Redd.

To be clear, this pull out is far from final. The Opera is now pursuing the early termination of its affiliation agreement with the TKC. Complicating matters, the Opera has a $30 million endowment over which both the company and the Center have partial control. The Center could make that termination difficult, or they could let the Opera leave with grace and dignity. Which do you think is most likely?