Following the departure of the Washington National Opera’s decision to leave the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, more than 60 artists have signed an open letter pledging support to the company.

The letter, which was an effort organized by Pulitzer and Grammy-award winning librettist Mark Campbell, states “We, the undersigned, support the recent decision between Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center to part ways. While we acknowledge the difficulty in making this decision, we also recognize that the great work WNO has created for more than 70 years cannot thrive in the environment created by the Center’s current administration. We pledge to support WNO in its future endeavors and, on our country’s 250th anniversary and always, to continue standing up for artistic freedom.” 

Among the signatories are John Adams, Jamie Barton, Mark Campbell, John Corigliano, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Joyce DiDonato, Eve Gigliotti, Ricky Ian Gordon, Susan Graham, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, David Henry Hwang, Isabel Leonard, Will Liverman, Ryan McKinny, Miles Mykkanen, Kelli O’Hara, Jarrett Ott, Nicholas Phan, Kevin Puts, Karen Slack, Jeanine Tesori, and Dawn Upshaw. 

The Washington National Opera announced it was leaving the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 9, 2026 due to a decline in ticket sales and cancelations. The company has already announced new venues for its spring season.

Since President Trump took over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts several organizations and artists have pulled out of the performing arts center. Among them are Vocal Arts DC, Martha Graham Dance Company, Stephen Schwartz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Cookers, Doug Varone and Dancers, Kristy Lee, Chuck Redd, and the team of “Fellow Travelers.” The National Symphony Orchestra continues to be the resident orchestra while the Vienna Philharmonic is still scheduled to perform at the center.

Here is a link to the complete letter: Letter in Support of Washington National Opera

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