The Washington National Opera (WNO) has filed a lawsuit against the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts seeking the return of more than $17 million in donor funds that the company says belong to the opera and are being withheld following the end of their long-standing affiliation.
In a statement released on 12 June, WNO said it had pursued “extensive efforts to resolve without litigation” before resorting to legal action. The company described the lawsuit as a necessary step to recover funds donated specifically for the benefit of the opera and its programmes.
“For roughly 15 years, WNO and the Kennedy Center maintained a formal affiliation under which WNO produced its world-class operas at the Center, and the Center managed donations made for WNO’s benefit,” the company said. According to the statement, WNO remained a separate nonprofit organisation throughout the relationship and maintains that funds raised on its behalf “always belonged to WNO.”
The affiliation came to an end in January 2026 after the Kennedy Center proposed a separation. Since then, WNO says it has repeatedly requested the return of donor funds held by the Center, as well as a basic accounting of those assets. According to the opera company, those requests have gone unanswered.
WNO further alleges that the Kennedy Center has “put a significant portion of these funds at risk” by using them to collateralise a line of credit. The company argues that the money represents years of contributions from supporters who intended their gifts to support opera productions, artists, educational activities and community programmes.
“These funds represent years of gifts from loyal supporters who gave specifically to advance WNO’s mission, its performances, its artists, and its education and community programs,” the statement said. “WNO has a fiduciary responsibility to its donors to ensure their contributions are honored and used as intended.”
According to WNO, the organisation spent months attempting to resolve the dispute privately, including through repeated meetings and a formal request for mediation, before deciding to pursue legal action.
The lawsuit adds a new chapter to the increasingly public tensions surrounding the Kennedy Center. According to reporting by The New York Times, Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi rejected the opera company’s claims and said the institution intends to pursue a countersuit. The newspaper also reported that the Center cited an external accounting analysis which concluded that WNO accumulated a $72 million deficit during the years it operated as a Kennedy Center affiliate.
The dispute follows a period of significant change at the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump’s takeover of the institution and the appointment of Richard Grenell as its president. The leadership changes prompted criticism from artists, donors and audiences and ultimately contributed to the decision to end the affiliation between the Kennedy Center and the Washington National Opera.
Despite the legal battle, WNO is continuing preparations for its first full season as an independent company. According to The New York Times, upcoming productions include a new staging of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and John Adams’s Nixon in China, featuring Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson.
The case is likely to be closely watched across the American performing arts sector, as it could clarify the financial responsibilities and ownership of donor assets following the dissolution of one of the country’s most prominent institutional partnerships.
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