The Washington National Opera’s defiant break from the Kennedy Center is paying immediate dividends, with its latest show “Treemonisha” drawing sold-out crowds this weekend at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University. The production marks the company’s first show since severing its 55-year affiliation with the Kennedy Center in January, a split that came amid pressure from Trump-appointed Kennedy Center Executive Director Richard Grenell over operational control, concerns about donor confidence and collapsing ticket sales since the Trump takeover.
Announcing the departure in January, Artistic Director Francesca Zambello admitted she was “deeply saddened to leave the Kennedy Center,” and warned in November that Trump administration policies had “shattered” donor confidence and triggered a 40 percent drop in ticket revenues. Reception to the first post-Kennedy Center production was rapturous with General Director Timothy O’Leary and Zambello receiving more than a two-minute standing ovation when they took the stage to welcome audiences. “It’s been a really exciting, inspiring kind of groundswell of support,” O’Leary said, describing the overwhelming response since the opera announced its independence. “As soon as we announced that we were producing the rest of our season at new venues, we heard overwhelmingly, not only from our audience, people saying, ‘I wasn’t coming but now I’m coming, absolutely. I’m coming twice.’ We also heard from people who wrote in and said, ‘I don’t even like opera, but I’ll come and attend any performance you give anywhere.’” The return to Lisner Auditorium—where the company was founded in 1956—has taken on symbolic significance. O’Leary framed the move as a homecoming rooted in American civil society values. “Thank you for believing in the idea of American civil society, whereby institutions that are mission-based like this are created and nurtured by we the people,” O’Leary said in a Facebook video. “We’ve been feeling this incredible surge of enthusiasm and support from not only our usual but people from around the country.” Looking ahead, the opera will present “The Crucible” from March 21 through March 29, followed by two performances of “West Side Story” at The Lyric in Baltimore and Strathmore in North Bethesda to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.
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