Washington National Opera sues the Kennedy Center to recover $17 million in donations
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The Washington National Opera filed a lawsuit on Thursday that demands more than $17 million from the John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The opera company claims it is owed millions in donations that have been withheld.The lawsuit claims that after the opera company and the Kennedy Center parted ways in January, center officials have not returned more than $17 million in gifts and donations that belong to the opera company.
The lawsuit lists the federal government as a defendant because the Kennedy Center was established by Congress.According to the suit, the opera company and the Kennedy Center had a longstanding contract in which WNO produced its operas at the Kennedy Center, which in return, provided a number of services and other support for the opera company including managing its donations.
World & Nation The Kennedy Center’s new president, Matt Floca, is leading tours to show the building’s need for major repairs.In late 2025, after approximately 15 years of affiliation, the suit claims that the Kennedy Center stopped performing the obligations of their agreement, which included marketing, fundraising and administrative support, as well as timely reporting on the growth of the opera company’s funds.When the opera company requested the Kennedy Center remedy the issue, center officials asked to sever ties.
“Five months have now passed since the termination of the affiliation, and the Kennedy Center still has not returned the funds to WNO,” reads the suit.“To the contrary, according to the Kennedy Center’s Chief Financial Officer, the Kennedy Center has put a significant portion of WNO’s money at risk by using it to collateralize the Kennedy Center’s line of credit.”In an emailed statement responding to the lawsuit, Roma Daravi, a spokeswoman for the Kennedy Center, told The Times that the contract between the opera house and the center...