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    Under Trump, Kennedy Center’s Classical Offerings Will (Mostly) Go On

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    The Kennedy Center’s flagship opera company and symphony orchestra announced Thursday that they plan to present robust and fairly typical programs next season, the first full season since President Trump took over the institution.But one prominent work was missing from the lineup: Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s “Fellow Travelers,” an opera set in the 1950s about two men working for the government who become lovers. The work was withdrawn by its creators because of concerns about Mr. Trump’s takeover, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times.Washington National Opera said the 2025-26 season would include classics like Verdi’s “Aida” and less commonly heard works like “Treemonisha,” an opera by the ragtime composer Scott Joplin. The National Symphony Orchestra is planning warhorses by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich and world premieres by Carlos Simon, the Kennedy Center’s composer in residence; Valerie Coleman; and others.In a sign of the political sensitivities at the Kennedy Center, the leaders of the opera and the symphony declined to be interviewed about the new season.The center has been in flux since Mr. Trump purged its previously bipartisan board of Biden appointees and had himself elected chairman. The president’s actions have prompted an outcry, leading some artists to cancel engagements there in protest. The musical “Hamilton” scrapped a planned tour there next year.The classical field, in which seasons are planned years in advance, has largely been unaffected. But the creators of “Fellow Travelers,” an opera based on the 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon, confirmed this week that they were pulling the work, which was supposed to have its Washington premiere next year.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Lionizing Mark Twain, Conan O’Brien Subtly Skewers Trump

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      In accepting the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the comedian mounted a bristling political attack artfully disguised as a tribute.Conan O’Brien faced a thorny question when accepting the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday night.In the headlining speech for the most-high-profile event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since President Trump purged Democrats from its board, cashiered its leaders and made himself chairman, how political should he be? Considering artists like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Issa Rae have said they are boycotting the Kennedy Center in protest, should he even show up?Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the puppet voiced by Robert Smigel, who was on the original writing staff of “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” captured the dilemma of his position when he welcomed the audience in a gravelly voice: “Thank you for coming and shame on you for being here.”The assignment was especially tricky for O’Brien, because unlike past recipients like Jon Stewart or Dave Chappelle, his comedy has always steered clear of ideological fervor. But moving out of his comfort zone, O’Brien delivered what amounted to a bristling attack on the current administration artfully disguised as a tribute to Mark Twain.“Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance,” O’Brien said, steadily, soberly. “Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the word. He loved America, but knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote: ‘Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.’”O’Brien’s speech, which along with the rest of the show, will air on Netflix on May 4, followed a murderers’ row of comedians — who put on the best Twain Awards in recent memory. Among those gushing about O’Brien were father figures (David Letterman), peers (Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Stephen Colbert) and his comedic children (Nikki Glaser, Kumail Nanjiani, John Mulaney).We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Music

      Touring Kennedy Center, Trump Mused on His Childhood ‘Aptitude for Music’

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      During his first visit to the Kennedy Center since making himself the chairman of its board, President Trump had a lot to say about Broadway shows, dancers in silk tights, the Potomac River and Elvis Presley.But in a private discussion at the start of a meeting of the center’s board on Monday, Mr. Trump offered something he usually steers away from in bigger settings: a personal anecdote about his childhood.He told the assembled board members that in his youth he had shown special abilities in music after taking aptitude tests ordered by his parents, according to three participants in the meeting.He could pick out notes on the piano, he told the board members, some of whom he’s known for years and others who are relatively new to him. But the president said that his father, Fred Trump, was not pleased by his musical abilities, according to the participants, and that he had never developed his talent. One person in the room said Mr. Trump appeared to be joking about his father. “I have a high aptitude for music,” he said at one point, according to people at the meeting. “Can you believe that?”“That’s why I love music,” he added. Mr. Trump’s remarks have not been previously reported. They were not part of an audio recording of the board meeting obtained by The New York Times earlier this week.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Amid Kennedy Center Upheaval, a Maestro Decides to Stay On

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      As the center goes through changes after President Trump’s takeover, Gianandrea Noseda is extending his tenure at the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the center’s main groups.The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has gone through big changes since President Trump’s recent takeover of the institution.But there will be at least one constant in the coming years: The conductor Gianandrea Noseda will stay on as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the center’s flagship groups. Mr. Noseda has extended his contract through at least 2031, the ensemble announced on Wednesday.Mr. Noseda, 60, the ensemble’s maestro since 2017, said that he felt he still had more to accomplish with the orchestra. He wants the ensemble to tour more often, to commission more pieces and to perform more opera.“We have established this kind of mutual trust in our relationship,” Mr. Noseda, whose contract had been set to expire in 2027, said in an interview this week. “It would have been a pity to stop.”Mr. Trump took over the Kennedy Center last month, purging its board of all Biden appointees and installing himself as chairman. Deborah F. Rutter, the center’s president for more than a decade, was fired. She was credited with luring the highly esteemed Mr. Noseda to the orchestra in what was widely seen as a coup.After the president’s takeover, Ben Folds, the singer and songwriter, resigned his post as an adviser to the orchestra. The orchestra has stayed largely quiet about the changes; its musicians issued a statement saying they were “proud to perform for our patrons, our community in our nation’s capital, and the country at large.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trump Reimagines the Kennedy Center: Elvis, ‘Cats’ and Babe Ruth

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      A recording of President Trump’s private remarks at a Kennedy Center board meeting shows that he mused about bestowing honors on dead celebrities and people from outside the arts.The new chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had a question for the board. Which musical is best, “The Phantom of the Opera” or “Les Misérables”? (Several trustees seemed to agree it was “Phantom.”)He mused about how great it could be if he hosted the Kennedy Center Honors (“The king of ratings,” he called himself). And he floated the idea of giving awards to dead figures in culture and sports, including Luciano Pavarotti, Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth.Monday was President Trump’s first visit to the Kennedy Center since he took it over last month by replacing all the Biden appointees on the board of the once bipartisan institution and having himself elected chairman.As he gathered members of the new board on the stage of its opera house he expressed strong and sometimes surprising opinions on a variety of matters, according to an audio recording of his private remarks obtained by The New York Times, which was confirmed as authentic by a participant.Asked about the recording, a Kennedy Center official pointed to a social media post by its new president, Richard Grenell, which said that Mr. Trump wants to save the center and “ensure it is the premier Arts institution in the United States” and a place where “EVERYONE is welcome.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Music

      Trump Visits Kennedy Center for First Time Since Taking It Over

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      President Trump visited the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Monday for the first time since he stunned the cultural and political establishment nearly five weeks ago by taking over the institution.“We’re here to have our first board meeting,” he told reporters as he toured the center with his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and a few of the people he has appointed to the center’s board, including the country singer Lee Greenwood (he sings “God Bless the U.S.A.”) and the Fox News personalities Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo.He had some thoughts about programming.“I never liked ‘Hamilton’ very much,” he said, taking a poke at a show that canceled a planned tour there next year to protest his takeover of the institution, which had long been bipartisan.When he was a young man Mr. Trump had dreams of one day becoming a Broadway producer himself. Now, he said, the Kennedy Center’s focus would be on producing “Broadway hits.”“We’re going to get some very good shows,” he said. “I guess we have ‘Les Miz’ coming.” (Before he was elected to a second term, the Kennedy Center had announced that “Les Misérables,” a longtime Trump favorite, would be performing there in June and July.)Mr. Trump made himself chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board last month after dismissing all of the Biden-era appointees, upending a bipartisan tradition that had endured for decades.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trump Seeks More Sway in Picking Kennedy Center Honorees

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      When President Trump was criticized by some of the artists who were recognized at the annual Kennedy Center Honors program during his first term, he responded by boycotting the show, breaking with decades of precedent.Now, as he leads a sweeping takeover of the Kennedy Center in his second term, Mr. Trump is seeking changes that will allow him greater sway in the selection of honorees, according to two people briefed on the matter who were granted anonymity to describe confidential discussions.Mr. Trump, who is now the chairman of the Kennedy Center, is scheduled to speak at a meeting of its board on Monday afternoon, when proposed changes to the honors advisory committee will be on the agenda, according to the individuals and a copy of the agenda that was obtained by The New York Times.Since 1978, the Kennedy Center has named honorees to be recognized each year at a star-studded televised gala without interference from the White House. The center has honored a broad spectrum of artists and performers, including Lucille Ball, Dolly Parton, Clint Eastwood, Fred Astaire and the Grateful Dead.But Mr. Trump is seeking a more direct role. He replaced all the Biden appointees on the center’s once-bipartisan board, was elected chairman and installed a loyalist, Richard Grenell, as its president. The board is scheduled to meet Monday to consider a resolution, which has not been previously reported, that would give Mr. Trump more control over the selection of honorees.The resolution states that members of the committee responsible for selecting honorees “shall be appointed by the chairman of the board, and shall serve at the pleasure of the chairman,” according to a copy obtained by The Times. That would give Mr. Trump broad power to hire and fire those who help decide who will receive the honor, which recognizes people and institutions for lifetime artistic achievement. The committee will recommend a slate of honorees to the Kennedy Center’s president for approval, the resolution says.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      JD Vance Is Booed at a Kennedy Center Concert After Trump’s Takeover

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      It was supposed to be a moment of celebration: Vice President JD Vance was attending a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Thursday evening for the first time since President Trump’s stunning takeover of the institution.Instead, as Mr. Vance took his seat in the box tier with the second lady, Usha Vance, loud boos broke out in the auditorium, lasting roughly 30 seconds, according to audience members and a video posted on social media. Mr. Vance was shown in the video waving to the audience as he settled into his seat.The incident put on display the outcry over Mr. Trump’s decision last month to purge the Kennedy Center’s once-bipartisan board of its Biden appointees and have himself elected its chairman. (The president, who broke with tradition during his first term by not attending the Kennedy Center Honors after some of the artists being celebrated criticized him, complained that the center had become too “wokey.”)Mr. Vance attended Thursday’s performance by the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the Kennedy Center’s flagship groups. The ensemble, under the baton of its music director, Gianandrea Noseda, performed Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with Leonidas Kavakos as the soloist. After an intermission, the orchestra played Stravinsky’s “Petrushka.”The Vances stayed for the entire concert, audience members said. Ms. Vance was recently appointed by Mr. Trump to serve as a board member at the Kennedy Center, alongside other Trump allies like Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; and Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host.The concert started about 20 minutes late because of added security measures, audience members said.Roma Daravi, a spokeswoman for the Kennedy Center, said she had no comment on the episode.A White House spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.In February, President Trump ousted the Kennedy Center’s longtime chairman, the financier David M. Rubenstein, the center’s largest donor. His new board of loyalists elected him chairman and fired Deborah F. Rutter, the center’s president for more than a decade. At least three other top staff members were also dismissed.Performers, including the actress Issa Rae and the musician Rhiannon Giddens, have dropped out in protest amid fears that Mr. Trump’s calls to rid the center of “woke” influences, drag shows and “anti-American propaganda” would result in a reshaping of programming. The musical “Hamilton” recently scrapped a planned tour there next year.While Mr. Trump has not yet articulated his vision for the center, his appointees have provided some hints. Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump named as the center’s new president, recently said that the center planned “a big, huge celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas.” More

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      Fashion? Rockets? Yachts? A Trump Ally Has Ideas for the Kennedy Center

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      Paolo Zampolli, a Trump appointee on the center’s board, wants the institution to host Valentino fashion shows, send art into space and open a marina and a Cipriani restaurant.The businessman Paolo Zampolli has counted Donald J. Trump as a friend for decades. In the 1990s, when Mr. Zampolli ran a modeling agency, he played matchmaker for Mr. Trump, introducing him at a party to his future wife, Melania.Now Mr. Zampolli, 55, is helping Mr. Trump in another way: reshaping the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.Mr. Zampolli has served on the center’s board since Mr. Trump appointed him toward the end of his first term. But things have changed rapidly since Mr. Trump began his second term with the stunning takeover of the historically bipartisan institution, firing all of the Biden appointees on its board and having himself elected chairman.Exactly what it all means is still coming into focus. A number of artists have canceled appearances there, and the musical “Hamilton” scrapped a planned tour there next year. Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump named as its new president, recently said that the center planned “a big, huge celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas.”Mr. Zampolli, who shares Mr. Trump’s attention-grabbing instincts, has his own ideas. He wants the center to launch art into space with the help of Elon Musk, host Valentino fashion shows and to open a marina on the Potomac and a Cipriani restaurant.“We need to make the Kennedy Center a destination,” Mr. Zampolli, a special envoy for Mr. Trump who once served as a United Nations ambassador of Dominica, said in a recent interview. “It has the hugest potential ever.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More