Last week, President Donald J. Trump threatened to shut down the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for good by gutting its funding under the new budget proposal.

In response, and not for the first time, the NEA opted for fighting another day by submitting to new requirements under Trump to remain a viable institution in the land. However, in order to fit in with Trump’s criteria to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, numerous organizations that had already been accepted for grants received emails that stripped them of their previously awarded financing.

As the news rolls in, we will keep you updated on all the companies to lose money that represents less than half of one percent of the overall national budget.

Among the companies approved for grants in Fiscal Year 2025 for projects pertaining to opera are Anchorage Opera, Artist Magnet Justice Alliance, Opera Cultura, Piedmont Choirs, Bodhi Tree Concerts, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Opera Parallele, Pocket Opera, Opera San José, In Series Inc., Opera Lafayette, Washington National Opera, Florida Opera & Zarzuela Corp, Olga Iglesias Project, Inc., Atlanta Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Music and Dance Theater Chicago Inc., Thompson Street Opera Company, Quad City Symphony Orchestra Association, Des Moines Metro Opera, White Snakes Projects, Detroit Opera, Lakes Area Music Festival, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Omaha, Opera Southwest, Santa Fe Opera, Opera on Tap, Vision Into Art, Hudson Opera House, Chinese Theatre Works, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Nuovo, North Carolina Opera, Cincinnati Opera Association, The Cleveland Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Utah Symphony & Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Virginia Opera, Music of Remembrance, Seattle Opera, Madison Opera, and Opera Wyoming.

• Opera San José announced that it had lost a grant of $25,000 for its bilingual production of “Zorro,” even though the new Trump guidelines for the NEA emphasized “elevating historically Black colleges and universities, as well as schools serving Hispanic students.” Learn more here. 
• Brooklyn Art Song Society was also stripped its grant. Learn more here.
• Chanticleer announced that it was also being stripped of tis NEA grant, days after its 2002 recording “Our American Journey” was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
• Music of Remembrance lost a $25,000 grant for its 10-anniversary production of “After Life” by Tom Cipulo which explored a confrontation between Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso, both artists that made different choices under Nazi rule. Music of Remembrance’s track record includes championing work that aims to eliminate antisemitism.
• Haymarket Opera Company also announced that its NEA support had been terminated. The company noted that it has had NEA support since 2021. “These grants represented more than financial support; they were a recognition of the artistic excellence and cultural value of historically informed performance. They allowed us to reach broader audiences, support a growing community of artists, and bring rarely heard Baroque masterpieces to life with integrity and imagination,” the company said in an official release. “The loss of this national investment is not just a challenge for Haymarket—it signals a shift that may leave many communities without access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits the NEA has long provided.”
• Virginia Opera lost a $25,000 grant for its opera “Loving v. Virginia,” a work based on a prominent Supreme Court in U.S. history. The company has been forced to opt for a GoFundMe to make up the difference and keep the production going.
• Opera on Tap also lost a $30,000 of a $55,600 grant to support development of an AR opera centering on unhoused women as well as support for its Playground Opera education program.
• Guerilla Opera lost a $15,000 grant to support the development of “The Captivity of Hannah Duston.”
• Hudson Opera House lost a $15,000 grant.
• Thompson Street Opera Company lost a $10,000 grant to support its production of “Groundwater.”