WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington National Opera announced Friday that it had decided to end its agreement with the Kennedy Center in the nation’s capital, although it said it hoped for an “amicable transition.”

“To ensure fiscal prudence and meet its obligations to achieve a balanced budget, the WNO will reduce its spring season and move performances to new venues,” the Opera said in a statement.

He said the decision arose from the Center’s new business model, which “requires productions to be fully funded in advance, a requirement incompatible with the opera’s operations.”

Workers look at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts after updating signage after the center was renamed in honor of U.S. President Donald Trump on December 19, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jim WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Workers look at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts after updating signage after the center was renamed in honor of U.S. President Donald Trump on December 19, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jim WATSON/News via Getty Images)

JIM WATSON via Getty Images

Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi told the New York Times: “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with the WNO due to a financially challenging relationship.”

Artists ranging from “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to rock star Peter Wolf have canceled events at the Kennedy Center since President Donald Trump ousted the previous leadership early last year and appointed himself to head the board. The board’s decision in December to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center sparked a new wave of cancellations.

The WNO ad did not mention Trump.