25 Comments
User's avatar
David Bell's avatar

Give it to the people, the whole center. Invitation Only, book musicals the public can afford. allow schools to book trips there to see Opera and have Q&A after. If they want to continue the Arts they'll have to engage New followers.

James Mead's avatar

Always amazing to see how much squawking when a deadbeat is called out.

ORRN31's avatar

How do the performers feel about this move? Sounds like they cut off their nose to spite their face.

Marianna's avatar

If they violate a contract, sue them.

Richard Luthmann's avatar

This isn’t rebellion. It’s entitlement theater. A board that doesn’t carry payroll, losses, or risk just voted to β€œleave” the entity paying the bills. That’s not courage. That’s denial with a press release. You don’t declare independence from your lifeboat while still standing in it. Opera is brutally expensive. The Kennedy Center absorbed WNO because it was broke, not because it lacked vibes. Demanding autonomy without capital isn’t liberation. It’s a slow-motion collapse dressed up as moral resistance. Independence requires money, governance, and risk tolerance. Until the opera can fund itself, this vote is just ideology trying to outvote arithmeticβ€”and losing.

BB's avatar

No they just left another Trump Failed Business. πŸ˜‚

goatsRstillgruffy's avatar

Is that the fat lady I just heard singing for the WNO?

Albert Cory's avatar

Having been in the chorus for community opera (VERY low budget) I know that serious opera is extremely expensive. Renting the Trump/Kennedy center and paying all the principals and crew has to be insane. The crew is probably union, too, and of course the orchestra is.

So how could an opera company possibly afford it unless they own the theater & the ground under it?

John Adams's avatar

Looks like we've gotten to the part of the opera where the fat lady sings.

skbunny's avatar

Trump should not have put his name on center. That was performative posturing too, and Trump excels at that.

Rob Tromp's avatar

Truly Divine Comedy! 🀣

Ol' Doc Skepsis's avatar

My catchphrase is β€œmarket floor tantrum.” Multiple generations of Westerners are about to receive an epic spanking.

Justin. Hart's avatar

For myself Im tired of being the β€œ SAP β€œ left holding the bag for another liberal group who expect John Q. Public to finance their failed , corrupt organization to achieve their illusions of solvency . The WASHINGTON OPERA COMPANY is not part of the Trump-Kennedy. Center , if is a non - profit that can’t even reach a break even point .

William Wallace's avatar

Radio Legend Paul Harvey would capture the audience with the usual targeted knee jerk reactions to topical news coverage, then hold you over a commercial to hear the, β€œRest of the Story”.

It was always worth the wait!

So was this post, thank you.

Casey Jones's avatar

OTOH Mr Harvey was the acknowledged premier vector of urban legend -- which did not detract from the fun.

Belling the Cat's avatar

Performative posturing positioned to politicize poltroons. Perpetually.

Sorry, I'm on an alliteration kick atm.